


Sweet Death

by sassysmith19 (sassysas19119)



Series: Sweet Love AU [5]
Category: BLACKPINK (Band), CROSS GENE, EXO (Band), GOT7, SHINee, Super Junior, VIXX, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Anger, Cross Gene - Freeform, EXO - Freeform, GOT7 - Freeform, Hate, M/M, SHINee - Freeform, Super Junior - Freeform, Tension, Unhealthy Relationships, Vampire AU, Vampires, Vixx - Freeform, again., angry vampires, backstories, blackpink - Freeform, bts - Freeform, for the record this is the last work in the series, i tagged the most important relationships and characters, lol guess who gave up on tagging every character and relationship., sweet love series, this author, vampires and hunters, weird blend of prequel and sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-02-06 19:56:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 47,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12824934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassysas19119/pseuds/sassysmith19
Summary: "I burned for you! I nearly died for you! And how did you repay me? You left me behind to die, at their hands.""Why?""Because I loved you. I loved you more than anything in the world. I would have done anything, to make you happy."





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains sex, more specifically, sex that is technically underage, because seyoung is 16. It's significantly less graphic than I had originally planned.

**Part I**

_Humanity_

He had been born in a small village, deep in the forest, with a population of maybe 500. His parents had been farmers, and there had been an assumption, since he was a child, that he would pick up where they left off. And the fact that he had had literally zero interest in doing so had meant nothing. Not to his parents, not to the rest of the people in the village.

When he was twelve, he had seen the nobles who controlled the village for the first time, for no more than a few seconds. One of them had met his gaze for the duration of that time, and then turned away.

When he was fifteen, his parents had told him that he was going to marry their neighbor’s daughter. Her name was Chaeyoung, and while she wasn’t ugly by any means, she wasn’t at all what he was interested in, not even remotely.

When he was sixteen, the nobles had come back. It didn’t seem to him that they’d aged a day, and one of them – the same one from four years ago – seemed to have taken a special interest in him.

o0o

He hadn’t known that the man had approached him, so he had been startled when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Well, hello there.” His voice was soft, velvety, and Seyoung shivered. “You’ve certainly grown up, haven’t you?” Seyoung nodded once, and the man laughed softly. “What’s your name?”

Seyoung swallowed. “I-I…I’m Seyoung.” The man smiled, and then pulled backwards. “Wh-Who are you?”

The man’s smile was dazzling. Seyoung didn’t seem to be able to look away from him. “My name’s Takuya.” He pulled away from Seyoung entirely, then glanced over his shoulder at one of his companions. “I’ll see you around, Seyoung.” Without another word, Takuya turned, and walked back towards the rest of the nobles, leaving Seyoung alone.

Seyoung swallowed hard, leaned back against the wall behind him. What the fuck. What the _fuck_. He had known he was gay for a long time, but that…that had been something else. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about the entire encounter, but he knew it wasn’t a bad feeling. Something had twisted in his gut, and he knew he didn’t hate it, but he wasn’t entirely sure that he liked it. 

“Are you alright, Seyoung?” He blinked quickly, looked over at Chaeyoung. “You look ill.”

“No, I…” He paused for a second, looked back once more at the nobles. Takuya was watching him closely, and when he caught Seyoung’s eye, he smiled softly. “Well. Maybe I need to lie down.” Chaeyoung smiled at him, and Seyoung forced a grin back, before he turned, and started to walk away. “I’ll…I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?” She nodded quickly, still grinning.

o0o

Seyoung awoke to a light tapping on his window. He rolled over – realizing almost immediately that he wasn’t wearing any clothes whatsoever – and looked, swearing quietly to himself when he saw Takuya peering through the window. He grinned at Seyoung, motioned him over, and after a second, Seyoung went, sheets wrapped around his waist. He pulled the window open quickly, frowning. “ _What_ are you going?”

Takuya smiled and leaned forward. “Keep your voice down. Your parents are asleep.” Seyoung’s eyes narrowed, and Takuya laughed softly. “Invite me in.” Seyoung’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “I just want to talk, Seyoung. Invite me in.”

“Why do you need to be-”

Takuya’s eyes flashed, and he bared his teeth, revealing long fangs where his canines had once been, a sinister smile on his face. “Now, invite me in.” After a moment, Seyoung nodded quickly.

“Y-you can come in.”

Takuya climbed through the window without struggle, and, when he saw the way Seyoung was shaking, he walked towards him, put his hands on his shoulders. “Hey, hey, you’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you. You wanted to know why, you wouldn’t have believed me if I’d just said it. Now you know. I’m sorry I had to scare you like that, but you’re fine, I wouldn’t hurt you, I promise. You’re safe with me. You’re alright, sweetheart, just calm down.”

“ _Calm down_? You’re a fucking vampire, how can you tell me to calm down?”

Takuya wrapped his arms around Seyoung and pulled him close. “Shh, you have to be quiet, people are sleeping, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you, I have control. I’m old enough that I can be around humans without trying to eat them, you know that, you saw that. Shh, oh, sweetheart, you’re shaking. Take a deep breath, you’re alright, calm down, I’ve got you, I’m not going to hurt you, you’re going to be okay.” It took him a moment to realize that Seyoung was crying. “It’s okay. You’re alright, just breathe for me, alright? I won’t hurt you.”

“W-why are you here?”

Takuya pulled back, far enough that he could look Seyoung in the eyes. “You’re pretty. I wanted to see you, to touch you.” Seyoung flushed red, and looked away. “And maybe, just maybe, I wanted to taste you.” Seyoung froze up, and Takuya’s grip tightened, reassuring. “Not right now, of course not, but in the future, maybe, if you want.” Seyoung frowned, and Takuya leaned down to press their foreheads together. “You smell so nice, like rain and storms and passion. It’s beautiful.”

He pressed closer, buried his nose in Seyoung’s hair. Seyoung was trembling in his grip, but didn’t pull away, didn’t struggle. “Why me?”

“You’re the only one who didn’t avoid my eyes, or shy away from me. The only one who was brave enough to hold my gaze. The only one who looked back at me. You’re brave, and you’re pretty, and I like that.” Seyoung made a quiet noise when Takuya ran his fingers through his hair. “I like you.” He moved, his mouth touching briefly at Seyoung’s ear before continuing down to his shoulder. “I want you.”

Seyoung let out a shaky breath when he felt blunt teeth graze his shoulder. “What are you going to do with me?”

Takuya smiled against his shoulder, one hand on Seyoung’s waist, the other on his shoulder. “You want to know what I really want, or what I would do to you now, if you’d let me?”

Seyoung’s mouth fell open. “I- both.”

“Well, for now, sweetheart, I want to touch you. I want you to forget everything except my name. I want to give you the release, the freedom, that you’re so clearly desperate for. I want you to let me tear down your walls, and see you when you’re vulnerable. I want you desperate.” Seyoung whimpered quietly, as Takuya pressed a kiss to his neck, gentle. “But what I _really_ want to do, Seyoung, is pin you down, and make you _scream_.” Seyoung’s mouth fell open, and Takuya put a hand over it. “Shh, remember, we’re in your bedroom. Your family isn’t that far away, you need to stay quiet. Can you do that?” Seyoung nodded quickly, and Takuya smiled. “Good.” Seyoung shuddered when he felt fangs on his skin, and Takuya chuckled. “Would you let me, if I asked?”

“Depends.”

Takuya raised an eyebrow “On?”

“How nicely you ask.”

Takuya laughed again, and then his hand dropped, to Seyoung’s crotch. Seyoung whined, and Takuya hushed him softly. “Will you let me? Will you let me bite you, touch you, have you?”

“Yes.”

o0o

Seyoung gasped as Takuya’s fingers dug into his back. That was going to bruise. He turned his head the other way, glanced over his shoulder at the vampire, who smiled down at him, fangs showing. He had bitten Seyoung twice already; once with the fangs, and once without. With every beat of his heart, Seyoung could feel the throbbing at each wound, and he returned the smile softly. He was exhausted, but Takuya didn’t seem to be finished with him yet. Takuya had pushed into him ages ago – or so it felt like – and, while it had burned before, now it was a dull ache. “You can move, you know. I’m not made of glass.”

Takuya laughed, and leaned down so his mouth brushed Seyoung’s ear. “You are to me, sweetheart.” As if to demonstrate, his grip on Seyoung’s hip tightened. “You’re so very breakable. Wouldn’t want to hurt you.” Seyoung pouted, and Takuya smiled at him, nipped at his ear. “Although, if that’s what _you_ wanted-”

“Right now, Takuya, I’d be perfectly happy if you’d just _actually_ fuck me.”

Takuya clicked his tongue quietly. “Language, Seyoung.” He did, surprisingly, take the hint, and thrust forward, pulling a moan out of Seyoung. “Hush. You need to be quiet, or you’ll wake your parents, and what will they think about all this?” Seyoung pouted, and Takuya laughed softly, pressed his mouth to Seyoung’s shoulder. “You’re pretty rude.”

“Because you’re being a dick.” Takuya sniffed delicately, maneuvered Seyoung onto his back so he could gaze down at his face. “I was under the impression that you wanted to fuck me. Now, you have the chance. Are you going to do it, or not?”

Takuya grinned, and leaned down to mouth at Seyoung’s jaw. “Sassy.” Before Seyoung could respond, Takuya bit him, this time on the shoulder. Seyoung hissed through his teeth, arching underneath Takuya. He squirmed, grip on Takuya’s arms tightening, enough that it would have left bruises, if he were human. When Takuya released him, he whined again. “Shush.” He thrust forward again, and Seyoung moaned. “Do you want them to wake up? You know that I’m fast enough to get out of here before they make it to your room. How do you think they’d react to finding you like this?” Seyoung pouted, and Takuya grinned, fangs bared, blood on his lips. “Should I gag you? Would that make this easier?”

“No. Don’t you dare.”

“I’ll do it, you know I will.” Seyoung glared at him, but then Takuya thrust forward, and Seyoung’s resolve snapped. He arched backwards, barely swallowing a moan, his hands fisting in the sheets. The next time Takuya fucked into him, he pushed back against it, meeting him halfway there. “Good. Good boy, you’re so eager, aren’t you?”

“Eager for you to shut up.” Seyoung managed to grit the words out, and Takuya laughed at him. He touched a gentle hand to Seyoung’s jaw, smirking when Seyoung tried to bite him.

“Silly boy.” Seyoung glared at him, and Takuya rolled his eyes. “You’re adorable, sweetheart.”

o0o

Seyoung woke when Takuya pressed a kiss to the bite mark on his neck. “I have to go. Sun and all, you know.” He nodded slowly, and Takuya smiled at him. “You taste good. Better than I imagined you would, which is hard to believe.” Seyoung smiled sleepily, as Takuya pressed a line of kisses up his throat, onto his face. “I’ll see you around, Seyoung. I don’t know when, but I will see you. You stick out in a crowd.”

“You do, too.”

Takuya chuckled, and then pressed his mouth to Seyoung’s forehead. “Keep yourself out of trouble.” Seyoung nodded, and Takuya finally climbed off of him. “Goodbye, sweetheart. Be good.” Without another word, he climbed out of the window, leaving Seyoung alone.

Seyoung didn’t remember much of last night. There had been blood, and biting, but also gentle touches and soft kisses when he had cried. It had been good, so good, so much better than he had anticipated. Takuya had touched him exactly where he had wanted to be touched, without being asked, and at the end, Seyoung had been a whimpering mess underneath him.

Takuya had been gentle when he rolled Seyoung onto his side for bed. He had avoided touching the bruises, or the bites that he’d left behind. More importantly, he’d avoided putting bruises or bites where Seyoung couldn’t hide them.

Seyoung rolled onto his back, letting out a quiet groan as it tugged on a muscle that he didn’t know could get sore. He had promised himself that sleeping with the vampire didn’t mean anything, but, well, he wasn’t exactly a good liar. He missed Takuya already.

Ah, fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

Seyoung waited a year before he ran.

It took him a while to find the nerve to slip out of his window, past the sleeping dog and into the fields, but he had done it. He made it to the river, about five miles west of the village, before he stopped to consider exactly what he’d done. He’d left his entire life behind; his family, his friends, his home. And, he realized, he didn’t really give a damn. That was his past now, and his future…his future was what was in front of him. He wasn’t going to let that go.

He made it another mile or so before they found him.

He knew they were vampires instantly. No human could move that gracefully, silently, through the forest. They had come almost out of nowhere, and before he knew it, he was surrounded. He hadn’t had a choice in the matter; they had grabbed him and dragged him through the woods, kicking and fighting and yelling, not that there was anyone to hear him. They were mean, but they weren’t cruel. They didn’t hurt him beyond what was enough to shut him up.

Whatever he had thought he was expecting, it really wasn’t what he got.

They dragged him to what was essentially a castle in the forest. It rose out of the darkness, almost out of nowhere, dark spires reaching up to touch the moon. The front door swung open as they approached, and Seyoung squinted into the darkness. It was a home meant for vampires, that much was obvious, because he couldn’t see a damn thing.

“What’s going on here?”

_Oh _, he’d recognize that voice anywhere. He stiffened, and so did the vampires holding him. They held still for a moment, before one of them spoke. “Hakyeon said there was an intruder in the territory. Sent us to grab him.” The unseen figure hummed quietly in thought. “Is there a problem?”__

__“Of course not, Sangmin, darling. Just curious.” He wasn’t fooling anyone with that, not even Seyoung. “I am quite interested to see what Hakyeon plans to do with him. He’s just a human. He didn’t know we were here until you brought him to the castle.” The one vampire – Sangmin – started to respond, but the unseen figure cut him off. “Mind if I come with you?”_ _

__The two holding Seyoung exchanged a glance. “Only if Hakyeon minds.”_ _

__“Oh, he won’t.” Without much more, Takuya stepped forward, nudged one of the others out of the way, and grabbed Seyoung’s arm. He pulled him forward, out of Sangmin’s grip, and down the hallway. He leaned forward to hiss quietly into Seyoung’s ear. “What are you doing here?” Seyoung squirmed, almost got out of Takuya’s grip before it tightened, and Seyoung whined. “Answer me.”_ _

__“I ran away.” Takuya sighed quietly, but his grip loosened. “Where are we, exactly?”_ _

__Takuya used his free hand to run his fingers through his hair. “This is my home. It’s where my maker – and the rest of my family – lives. Evidently, you came too close to finding it on your own, and our maker sent Sangmin and Casper to collect you, which I think is ridiculous, but it’s not exactly my call. We’ll see what he thinks when he finds out that you’re not a hunter, not remotely interested in our lives.” That seemed to be the end of the conversation, as Takuya pushed open a door, and stepped into a small, well-furnished sitting room, Seyoung right behind him. Takuya didn’t say anything, merely released Seyoung, gazing at the other two people – vampires – in the room. One of them was perched on an armchair, and the other was draped over the back of it, his chin balanced on the top of the first’s head._ _

__“I was under the impression that I sent Sangmin and Casper to find the human, not you, Takuya.” Takuya opened his mouth to speak, but the seated figure waved a hand, cutting him off. “Not that it matters. He’s here now, isn’t he?” Takuya nodded once, as Sangmin and the other vampire – Casper – slipped into the room, moved to stand behind the speaker. “Takuya, aren’t you going to introduce me to our guest?”_ _

__Takuya inhaled slowly, glanced at Seyoung for a second before he spoke. “Hakyeon, this is Seyoung.” As he spoke, he shifted closer to Seyoung, which Hakyeon seemed to notice. “He’s not an-” Hakyeon raised his hand silently, and Takuya cut off._ _

__“Seyoung.” He looked at Hakyeon quickly. “You’re no hunter.” It wasn’t a question, but Seyoung shook his head anyway. “Not a sorcerer.” Another quick shake of the head. “And you have no reason to come looking for vampires.”_ _

__“Why would I-”_ _

__“Hush.” Hakyeon rose to his feet, and the vampire behind him straightened, came around the armchair to stand at his side. “Sangmin, Casper, go upstairs.” They nodded silently, and left the room, as Hakyeon walked forward. “As soon as you leave this place, you’re going to forget where we are, what we are. You’re going to forget everything about us. You understand?” Seyoung nodded quickly. “Takuya will see you out.” Hakyeon spun on his heel, and walked away from them, the other vampire following silently behind him. “And I’d recommend getting as far away from here as you possibly can.” With that, he slipped out of the room, leaving Takuya and Seyoung alone._ _

__Takuya moved without speaking as he grabbed Seyoung’s wrist, and led him out of the room, down the hallway, and to the front door. They stepped outside, and that was when he spoke. “Don’t come near here again. He’ll kill you if you do. Hakyeon’s dangerous.” Seyoung nodded quickly, and Takuya smiled at him. “Please be safe. Don’t do anything stupid.” Seyoung chuckled, and Takuya pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Go.”_ _

__With that, they parted.__

__o0o_ _

__Seyoung really hadn’t expected to be back in this neck of the woods, stake in his hand. He hadn’t planned it, that much he was sure of. Of course, he hadn’t planned on becoming a hunter, hadn’t planned on following his leader’s orders, hadn’t planned on them sending him here. He had thought he could handle it, so long as he didn’t get too close._  
_

__That being said, he also hadn’t planned on being assaulted by a small group of vampires. They were rough, and mean, far more so than Sangmin and Casper had been. The next thing he knew, there were fangs in his neck, blood on his skin, and he was pretty sure that they’d punctured skin elsewhere, though he couldn’t exactly see. He squirmed, but they were strong, their fingers tight enough that they would leave bruises. He had kicked one of them at some point, and that had earned him a broken finger. At this point, though, that pain had blurred together with the rest of it._ _

__The last thing he did before he blacked out was scream, the sound ripping through his lungs, burning his dry throat.__

__o0o_ _

__“Why can’t we go to one of the villages to hunt?” Takuya sighed quietly, put his head in his hands for what felt like the hundredth time today. “Takuya, we can’t feed off of random passersby forever! You know that, Hakyeon knows that! Soon enough there’ll be too many of us for that to work, how are we supposed to survive like this!”_  
_

__Takuya reached over, and grabbed Wonho by the back of his neck. “If you do not shut up, I’m going to let Jackson feed off of _you_.” Wonho yelped, squirming, but Takuya was stronger than he was. “Shut up. Stay still.” Wonho’s nose scrunched, but Takuya didn’t release him. “Baby doll, I’ve been very patient with you today, but you’re starting to get on my nerves, and you know what happens when you get on my nerves. So, be _good_.”_ _

__“I will.”_ _

__They froze when they heard a scream. Takuya’s head snapped to the side, in the direction of the sound, and he released Wonho. “That-”_ _

__“Was a human. And Hakyeon didn’t send any of the others out to hunt today. So-”_ _

__“Rogues.” Without another word, Takuya leapt out of the tree that they were in, landing gently on the ground, and took off running towards the source of the sound. Wonho wasn’t far behind._ _

__There were four of them. Takuya was quick to rip the head off of the first, and then dove towards the second. Wonho was slower, but the rogues were distracted by the human body in front of them. When they turned to face the fourth, he had the body in his hands, and was glaring at them. Takuya rolled his eyes, and came forward, growling. The rogue dropped the body, and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. Takuya knelt beside him, a gentle, deadly smile on his face. “You know whose territory this is?” The vampire nodded quickly, eyes wide. “Yeah, yes, that’s right, smart boy. So, I’m going to give you a choice.” He was still smiling, and, though Wonho had known him for years, it was starting to creep him out, like it always did. “You can leave, and go tell your leader that if you come back, we’ll kill you all.” The vampire whimpered when Takuya’s fangs slid free. “Or you can stay here, and I’ll kill you myself. I’ll string your body up in a tree, just to let your maker see what happens when you fuck with us.”_ _

__He pulled back, and the vampire scrambled to his feet, took off running. “Takuya-”_ _

__“Kill him.”_ _

__“But you said-”_ _

__“Not negotiable, Wonho. Kill him.” After a split second, Wonho took off after the vampire. He came back not ten seconds later, dragging the body behind him, the head in his other hand. “Hakyeon would have killed us if we’d let him escape. Now, I want you to take that, and dump the body on the Northern edge of the territory, and put the head on a pole.”_ _

__“What are you going to do with-”_ _

__Takuya turned to look at the human body on the ground. He looked dead, but Takuya could sense that he wasn’t. “Just do as you’re told. I’ll handle this.” Wonho nodded, and then vanished from sight. Takuya knelt beside the human, and put a hand on his shoulder. “ _Seyoung_.”_ _

__Dark eyes blinked open, squinted up at Takuya. There was no recognition in them, and if he had had more energy, Takuya was sure that he wouldn’t have missed quite as badly when he attacked. His stake punctured Takuya’s shoulder, and he winced, before he grabbed Seyoung’s wrist, and pulled backwards. He released the stake, but struggled, struggled until Takuya had him trapped in his arms. “Shh, sweetheart, you’re going to hurt yourself more if you do that.” Seyoung growled, but the sound was weak. He was hurting. “I’m going to give you my blood, and you’re going to get out of here.” Seyoung squirmed, and Takuya grabbed his throat, forcing him still. “Or I can kill you. Your choice.” Seyoung shook his head, and then Takuya raised his hand to his mouth, bit down, before feeding the blood into Seyoung’s mouth. “Get out of here, Seyoung, before anyone else finds you.” After a few moments, Seyoung pushed himself to his feet, and ran into the forests, leaving Takuya alone, sitting on the forest floor._ _

__When Wonho came back, he looked around, confusion in his eyes. “The human-”_ _

__“Not as dead as we thought. He ran off.”_ _

__“You didn’t chase him?”_ _

__“He wasn’t here for us. He was tracking them, and now that they’re gone, he has no business here. He doesn’t know us. He doesn’t know where Hakyeon is. He’s not a threat.” Wonho raised an eyebrow when he spotted the wound on Takuya’s hand, but didn’t comment. “The hunters in this region know better than to come here. They knew Hakyeon. They know that we don’t kill needlessly. They won’t come looking for us, and neither will he.”_ _

__“Hakyeon won’t be happy.”_ _

__Takuya shrugged. “He’ll live.”_ _


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m sorry, you what?”

Takuya sighed quietly, uncrossed his legs, and shuffled a sleeping Mark off of his lap. That earned him a gentle shove, before Mark moved to curl up against Jackson’s side. “I let him go.” Hakyeon closed his eyes, frustrated. “He’s not a risk. He’s not going to harm us. He works with Dongwoon’s hunters. They know better than to come here.” Hakyeon’s nostrils flared, and Takuya leaned forward, braced his elbows on his knees. “We have more important things to be dealing with than a hunter. Take, for example, the rogue vampires that said hunter was tracking, the rogue vampires that came into our territory.”

“I was under the impression that you’d dealt with them.”

“I dealt with the ones that were past the border. I can track their leader, if you want, but you know that if I go into their territory, it’s an act of war. They could kill me.” His hand clenched into a fist, which Hakyeon took notice of. “Let me take-”

“No.”

Takuya got to his feet, paced towards the fireplace, and then back across the room. “They broke the rules first. They came here, they attacked humans in our territory, we have every right to go after them. But I can’t go after them alone, Hakyeon, you know that.” He let out a long, angry, frustrated breath, before stopping his pacing, and looking at Hakyeon. “I don’t need many. I just need _enough_ , and you know that Heechul and Ryeowook and Jongin would be more than en-”

“I said _no_ , Takuya, what about that do you not understand?” Hakyeon was on his feet, now, snarling, and Yugyeom, poor little Yugyeom, was on the floor, looking more shocked than anything else, shocked that Hakyeon would have dropped him. “If we wait for them, if we are _patient_ , then we get the upper hand. When they come back here, we kill them all. We keep killing them, until their leader gets the hint, and backs off. But what we aren’t going to do is go looking for a fight in a territory that isn’t ours. We are more than content to stay here, and live our lives. We know where the borders are, and we are above petty border disputes.” He was close, now, closer than Takuya would have liked.

“But-”

Hakyeon slapped him, and Takuya fell to the floor without a sound. “Those are my orders. I don’t care that you don’t like them. I am your maker, and you will obey me. Is that understood?” After a moment, Takuya nodded, silent. “Now get up.” Shaking, Takuya rose to his feet. “I will forgive you for the choice you made about the hunter. But from this point forward, you will obey me, or you will pay for it. Is that clear?” Another quick nod, and Hakyeon slid his hands underneath Takuya’s jaw, gazing up at him. “Good boy.” He pressed a kiss to Takuya’s mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Hakyeon smiled at him. “I know.” His hand trailed down Takuya’s chest, adjusted his shirt so it lay flat against his chest. “But you’ll be good from now on.” Takuya nodded. “Tomorrow night, we’ll go out to hunt. Just you and me, alright?” Another nod. “Good boy. It’s almost dawn; we should all be getting to bed, yes?” Yugyeom had pulled himself to his feet, and was pouting at Hakyeon’s back. “Good. Now, go.”

o0o

Takuya and Hakyeon hadn’t hunted together, alone, since Takuya was a newborn. He had forgotten how quickly Hakyeon could move, when he wasn’t weighed down by Yugyeom’s clinging fingers, or Jongin’s constant worry that someone would get hurt. He had forgotten how much he missed having Hakyeon’s attention on him, and on nothing else. They had been crouched on the roof of a building, before Hakyeon had turned to him, eyes and fangs glinting dangerously, and then he’d kissed Takuya, out of nowhere. He pressed Takuya down, onto the roof, fingers sliding underneath his shirt, his mouth finding his jaw, then his throat, and then his fangs pushed through Takuya’s skin. Takuya gasped, arched, squirmed, fingers pulling open Hakyeon’s belt, before Hakyeon had grabbed his wrists and stopped him. “We don’t have time.”

“You started it-”

“Mm. I kissed you. You tried to take my pants off.” Takuya pouted, and Hakyeon smiled, wolf-like. “I’ll make it up to you, tonight. I’ll take you back to my room, and I’ll give you whatever you want. Alright?” After a moment, Takuya nodded, pulled his hands out of Hakyeon’s grip, and sat up. “That’s my charming boy.” Takuya kissed Hakyeon once more, and before Hakyeon could stop him, he’d bitten down on Hakyeon’s neck. “Oh, you brat. You’ll pay for that one.”

“Later?”

“After we’ve both fed.” Takuya smiled, and Hakyeon bared his fangs. “When we’re back at home, where no one will be worried about your screaming.” Takuya’s jaw dropped, and Hakyeon chuckled. “Now go. Find yourself some food.”

o0o

They met again on a different roof. Both of their mouths were bloodied, and there was a new calmness in their eyes. Hakyeon had pressed a kiss to Takuya’s mouth, and then turned to leave, but Takuya had grabbed his arm. “You smell that?” Hakyeon turned, sniffed delicately at the air for a moment. They exchanged a glance, and Takuya saw his worry mirrored in Hakyeon’s eyes. “Newborn?” Hakyeon nodded once, and that was all the approval that Takuya needed to jump off the roof, and onto the street.

They found him in a seemingly abandoned building. Takuya made it there first, and he was the first to enter, though Hakyeon was seconds behind him. Neither of them said a word, as they came closer to the body on the ground, and when Takuya knelt beside it, he gasped. Carefully, he reached out, touched a hand to the body’s face, and a series of memories flashed before his eyes. He looked up at Hakyeon for a second, saw the recognition there, and then pulled the body against his chest. “Seyoung. Open your eyes.” Seyoung did, after a moment, though it looked like a struggle. “Hakyeon, can you-” Before he could finish the sentence, Hakyeon had vanished. “Seyoung, sweetheart, we’re going to take care of you, alright? You’re safe.” Seyoung whimpered softly, eyes wide as he gazed up at Takuya.

“I’m back.”

Takuya turned to look at Hakyeon. He had a young woman with him, and Takuya stood, helped Seyoung to his feet as well. “I need you to feed for me, Seyoung, can you do that?” Seyoung nodded, dazed, and Takuya smiled. Hakyeon led the woman closer, and Takuya reached out to take her hand. “Show me your fangs.” Seyoung opened his mouth, pupils dilated, revealing his fangs. “Oh, those are very pretty, sweetheart. Now, feed for me.”

Seyoung lunged forward, brought the woman to the ground, his fangs sinking into her neck. As he did, Takuya heard four vampires drop to the floor. He glanced around, then at Hakyeon, who nodded once. They had a split second of silence before they leapt into action.

When Seyoung pulled back from the woman’s body, he found Takuya and Hakyeon standing over him, covered in blood. Takuya held out his hand and Seyoung took it, allowed Takuya to pull him to his feet. “What do you intend to do with him, Takuya?” Takuya turned to Hakyeon, and he sighed softly. “Of course, you want to keep him.”

“Please? He’s cute.” Takuya wrapped an arm around Seyoung’s waist, and pulled him close. “ _Please_ , Hakyeon?”

After a moment, Hakyeon sighed. “Fine. _Fine_. He’s yours. But keep him under control, Takuya, or so help me, I’ll kill him myself.”

o0o

“I don’t like it.”

Takuya hummed from where he was laying on the bed, his back to Seyoung. He heard him move around the end of the bed, felt the mattress shift as Seyoung sat near his feet. “I can’t control it. I can’t control anything. It scares me.” Takuya turned his head to look at him, and found that Seyoung wasn’t looking back at him, was staring at the floor. “I don’t want to end up like Jongin. That scares me, too; thinking about what happened to him.”

“Seyoung, be nice.”

“I _am_.” Seyoung pouted down at the floor, and Takuya smiled at him gently. “I don’t want to end up like a zombie, though.” Takuya snorted, and Seyoung turned to him, fire in his eyes. “Don’t do that, you’ve seen what happens when Seokjin compels him. You’ve seen the look in his eyes. Don’t tell me that he doesn’t look like a zombie. He can’t control anything – his urge to feed, his emotions, not even his own body. I don’t want to be like that.” Takuya hummed, and sat up, leaned against the pillows. “And he’s always with Seokjin. He’s dependent on him.”

“Seyoung-”

“I love him, I do. He’s really nice, and really understanding. He knows how I feel. But the difference is, he won’t…he doesn’t understand that we don’t hurt people maliciously. We don’t do it because we’re evil, we do it because we need to survive. It’s the same reason that humans kill animals. But we don’t have to kill anyone to feed. I don’t understand why he can’t see that.”

“Perhaps you should ask him.” Seyoung shook his head quickly, and then reached for the top button of his shirt. He unbuttoned it quickly, and dropped it on the floor, before crawling over, into Takuya’s lap. “How will you ever know if you don’t ask? Does he know that that’s how you feel? Has he heard that perspective?”

“I don’t know. I overheard him and Seokjin one day, and I think that that’s what Seokjin was telling him, but I…he’s still Jongin, you know?” Takuya nodded, nosed at Seyoung’s shoulder, up to his ear. “I love him, I love him so much.” 

“Everyone loves Jongin, he’s a darling.” Takuya paused. “When he’s not being a dick.” He amended quickly, and Seyoung laughed quietly. “Mm, I forgot to tell you, I have to go South for a few days. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but for the time being, if you need something, ask Sangmin or Wonho. They like you, they’re more than happy to help. I prefer if you’d avoid asking Casper, but he’s not your worst option.”

“Who is?”

“I’m not going to tell you that.” Seyoung pouted, and Takuya kissed his shoulder. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. You need your rest.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep well.”

o0o

“You’re getting soft.”

Takuya didn’t speak as he stood in front of Hakyeon, hands at his sides. Hakyeon was sitting behind his desk, one leg crossed over the other, his gaze neutral. “That precious little newborn is making you soft, Takuya, and I can’t have that.” Takuya remained wordless, his gaze on the desk. He hadn’t met his maker’s eyes yet, and he didn’t intend to. “You understand that he’s the reason I’m sending you away.” It wasn’t a question, and Takuya didn’t treat it like one. “And you understand that if you don’t get better very quickly, I’m going to kill him.” Takuya’s hands clenched into fists, but he didn’t say a word. “Does that make you angry?”

When Takuya didn’t answer, Hakyeon growled softly in his throat. Takuya inhaled, shaky, and then spoke, his voice soft. “It won’t be necessary.”

After a few seconds, Hakyeon stopped growling. “I certainly hope not. That would be most unfortunate, for the both of you.” After a moment, Hakyeon uncrossed his legs, and got to his feet. “When you get back, you’d best be back to your old self, Takuya.” Takuya nodded once, as Hakyeon walked past him. “Wouldn’t want any of your kids to pay for your mistakes…again.” Takuya tensed, and Hakyeon chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry, does that upset you?”

“Hakyeon-”

“Do you have something to say?”

Takuya turned to face Hakyeon. “Please don’t talk about him.” Hakyeon smiled, cruel, and Takuya looked down at the floor.

“Don’t talk about who, Takuya?” Hakyeon cocked his head to the side, and stepped closer, fangs sliding free. “Mm?” He moved until he was pressed right up against Takuya. “Don’t talk about Jianing?” Takuya inhaled, teeth gritted, and Hakyeon chuckled, stepped away. “Then don’t disappoint me.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Two**

_Venom_

Takuya wasn’t the same when he came home.

The first thing that Seyoung noticed was that he didn’t look at him anymore, not the way he used to. He would look at him, sure, but never in the eyes, and never with the same love or intensity that he had before Hakyeon had sent him away. His dark eyes held heat, sure, just like they always had, but it was different, now. It was intense, and dark, and terrifying, and it scared Seyoung more than anything in the world. He avoided Takuya, now, just for the sake of avoiding his gaze.

Seyoung wasn’t the same either. He’d been spending too much time around Hakyeon, that much Takuya had known the first time he had seen Seyoung upon returning. He was quick to anger, now, his fangs sliding free far faster than they had before. Takuya had watched Seyoung lunge across the length of the dining room and bury his fangs into Minseok’s forearm because Minseok had called him pretty. Ryeowook had tried to pull him off, and Seyoung had thrown him across the room. Only Hakyeon’s interference had been able to stop him.

He was volatile, and angry, and willing to fight literally everyone who crossed him.

This time, it had been Jackson. He and Seyoung had been sitting in silence in the library, reading books, about 20 feet away from each other. Heechul had been doing the same, but further away. It had been peaceful, until Jackson had muttered something under his breath. As Heechul had told Takuya, it sounded something like “stupid pretty boy, thinks he’s so special”. Seyoung had looked up at him for a moment, then set his book down, and attacked.

Takuya had walked into the room, and found Seyoung on Jackson’s chest, holding Jackson’s wrists to the floor, his fangs bared. Jackson had been squirming, but Seyoung bit him, swift and ferocious. In that moment of distraction, Jackson grabbed him, and threw him across the room, into a bookshelf. Takuya grumbled something under his breath, then stalked across the room towards them. Before he got there, Seyoung threw Jackson. He hit a shelf, then fell to the ground. Thankfully, none of the artifacts on the shelf followed him to the floor, because that was a sure-fire way to piss off Hakyeon.

Takuya tried to grab Seyoung as he passed, but Seyoung shook him off, grabbed Jackson, and snarled, fangs meeting his arm when he raised it to defend himself. Jackson managed to land a blow on Seyoung’s chest, pushing him backwards, and took advantage of that, shoved Seyoung out the window.

When Jackson had tried to follow, Heechul had grabbed him, and Takuya had followed instead.

When he had found Seyoung, he was on his back in the forest, Hakyeon standing over him, a foot on Seyoung’s chest, holding him down. “You, my dear, sweet little Seyoung, are very lucky that I’m in a good mood today. I don’t feel like torturing you. I don’t feel like killing you. In fact, I might be in a mood to forgive you, if you can shut up, listen, and do as I tell you. You understand?” Seyoung opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it, and settled for nodding. “First and foremost, you’re going to apologize. To me, and to Jackson.” Seyoung nodded. “And then you and I are going to go to the library and figure out exactly what you broke, and you’re going to clean and fix _everything_.” Seyoung opened his mouth. “Oh, now, I know you aren’t about to _speak_.” Seyoung closed his mouth, shook his head. “Good. And once we’ve done that, you’ll come up to my room, and we’ll see what you can do about earning my forgiveness. Do you understand?”

He was waiting for an answer, a verbal one, that time. Seyoung swallowed hard, and then spoke. “Y-yes. Yes, I understand.”

Hakyeon smiled at him, and removed his foot from Seyoung’s chest. “Takuya, you’re dismissed. You don’t have to stick around for this.” Takuya opened his mouth to complain, but Hakyeon raised a hand to silence him. “Allow me to make myself clear. I want you to leave.” Takuya nodded, and slipped into the forest, leaving them alone. Hakyeon turned to Seyoung, who had risen to his feet. “I believe, sweet Seyoung, that you owe me an apology.” Seyoung nodded, and as Hakyeon held out his hand, Seyoung dropped to his knees. He took Hakyeon’s hand in both of his, delicate, and pressed his mouth to Hakyeon’s knuckles.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I was out of line, I shouldn’t have done what I did. I shouldn’t have been fighting, not with Jackson, not in your home. I’m sorry, please forgive me?” At the last few words, he looked up at Hakyeon with wide, imploring, desperate eyes.

Hakyeon considered him for a moment, then pulled his hand away. “Stand up.” Seyoung did, quickly, and Hakyeon allowed a flicker of a smile to cross his face. Seyoung caught it, and his eyes widened further, if possible. “You are going to be on the best behavior of your life, Seyoung, or I’m going to be very upset with you, am I clear?” Seyoung nodded quickly, and Hakyeon smiled rather fondly at him. “We’ll see. You’re going to have to prove to me that you can be good, because right now, I don’t really believe it.”

He touched his fingertips to Seyoung’s face, his thumbnail grazing his lower lip, and Seyoung whined in his throat. Hakyeon smiled, pressed gently, until the tip of his thumb pushed through Seyoung’s lips. “Oh, my darling, sweet, pretty Seyoung.” Seyoung gazed at him for a long moment, until Hakyeon pulled away. His eyes fell shut, and then Hakyeon put a hand on his chest. “Don’t get to comfortable with the praise. I still haven’t seen the mess that you made, and I doubt you’ll be getting praised for that.”

“I-”

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “You?”

“It wasn’t all _my_ fault!” Hakyeon looked mildly amused, but didn’t say anything. “Jackson called me a stupid pretty boy. And, for the record, he attacked me back.” He was pouting, now, and Hakyeon smiled to himself. Hakyeon stepped forward, and Seyoung stepped backwards. They continued in that manner until Seyoung had backed into a tree, and Hakyeon had trapped him there. “It’s not all-”

“Your fault?” Seyoung nodded vigorously. “Maybe not, but you started the fight. And don’t think that Jackson won’t be getting in trouble, because he will. But right now, I’m focused on you.” Seyoung’s breath caught in his throat as Hakyeon’s fingers made their way up his chest. “Oh, pretty Seyoung. Pretty, pretty Seyoung. I will say, you are very good when it comes to getting out of trouble. You’re very clever.” Seyoung swallowed hard when Hakyeon’s hand came to rest on his throat. “Just not clever enough for me, sweetcheeks.” With that, he squeezed. Seyoung whined, his hands coming up to grab onto Hakyeon’s forearm, eyes wide.

After a few seconds, Hakyeon released him. “Now, I’d recommend you be good for me until I’ve forgiven you.” Seyoung nodded quickly, and after a moment, Hakyeon pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Very well. Now, to the library.”

o0o

Hakyeon sighed when he saw the state of the library. He walked through it, slowly, glancing at some of the books that had fallen to the floor, before taking a seat in the one armchair that hadn’t been overturned. “I’d get to work quickly, if I were you, Seyoung. This room isn’t going to clean itself.” Seyoung jumped at the sound of his name, and nodded silently, slipped into the room. He started by picking up the books that had fallen, and replacing them on the shelves – no easy task; Wonho had sorted them alphabetically by author.

While he was working, Hakyeon saw Jackson hovering in the doorway. He shot him a look, and Jackson responded by pouting, with wide eyes. “Come in, Jackson.” Seyoung paused, but quickly resumed working, ignoring Jackson’s presence. Jackson made his way across the room, and stopped in front of Hakyeon, staring down at his toes. “Something you want to say?”

“I want to apologize to Seyoung.” That brought Seyoung to a halt, and he straightened, a stack of books in his hands. He looked over his shoulder, found Jackson gazing at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you stupid. Or pretty boy.”

Seyoung took a deep breath, turned fully to face Jackson. “I…I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have attacked you. That was rude.” Jackson smiled rather fondly at him. “Don’t you dare-”

“He’s cute.”

Seyoung’s nostrils flared, and he glared at Jackson, but he didn’t say anything. Hakyeon laughed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “He is. Unfortunately for him, he’s also a brat, and he’s also in trouble. I’d refrain from praising him if I were you. It might go to his head.” Seyoung pouted, and Jackson chuckled. “I think Mark is looking for you, sweetheart.” Jackson nodded, and slipped out of the room, leaving Seyoung and Hakyeon alone. “Seyoung, you’re staring. Get back to work.”

“Okay.” Hakyeon watched as Seyoung turned, and started putting books back onto shelves, carefully, fingers trailing down the spines. “Hakyeon?”

“Seyoung.”

“Are you mad?” Hakyeon sighed, uncrossed his legs, smiling rather fondly at Seyoung. “I mean, I know you’re upset, about what I did, but are you mad at me?” Hakyeon motioned Seyoung forward, and after a second of hesitation, Seyoung moved, until he stood right in front of Hakyeon. The elder vampire took his hand, and pulled him into his lap, faster than Seyoung would have liked. “ _Hakyeon-_ ”

“Shush.” Hakyeon touched a finger to Seyoung’s lips. “I am angry. I am angry at what you did, at the way you acted. You know that he did it to rile you up, you know that that’s why they all do it, because you’re new, and a baby, and they think it’s funny that you snap so easily.” Seyoung nodded slowly, looking down at Hakyeon’s chest. “But I’m not mad at you.” Seyoung let out a quiet sigh of relief. “No, sweet Seyoung, I’m not angry with you. I’m just disappointed.”

“But-”

Hakyeon placed his hand over Seyoung’s mouth, silencing him. “We talked about this. About self-control. About watching your fucking _temper_. Remember?” Seyoung nodded, and Hakyeon smiled at him. “This is the last time I’m going to remind you. The next time it happens, I won’t be nearly so forgiving.” Seyoung nodded quickly, gazed at Hakyeon with wide eyes. “You want something?”

Seyoung nodded. When Hakyeon raised an eyebrow, Seyoung wrapped his arms around Hakyeon’s shoulders, and pressed his face into his hair, inhaling deeply. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I was stupid. I’ll be better, I promise.”

“Oh, you’d better.” Seyoung whined softly, and Hakyeon chuckled, wrapped his arms around Seyoung’s waist. “Now, get up. You still have to finish cleaning.”


	5. Chapter 5

Jongin pulled away from Heechul when he heard the first scream, sniffed gently, then frowned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “Why-” Heechul shook his head once, and Jongin’s frown deepened, before he leaned back against Heechul’s body, squirming until Heechul’s grip tightened. “He’s hurting.” Heechul nodded, pressed a kiss to Jongin’s shoulder. “What did he do to deserve it?”

Seokjin spoke up from the other side of the room, where he was standing with Jackson, one hand on his shoulder. “You remember what he did to you, when you called him cute?” Jongin nodded once. “He did the same, but worse, to Jackson. The library got the worst of it.” Jongin hummed quietly, curled closer to Heechul. “Hakyeon’s furious with him. They’ve talked, about Seyoung’s temper, about how he has to control himself, and it doesn’t appear like he gave the words much thought. And we all know how Hakyeon gets when people don’t listen to him.” Jongin glanced around, caught Takuya’s eye for a second, and then looked away. He was pissed. After a moment, he heard Takuya move, and looked up just in time to see him slip out of the room. “Poor thing.”

“Takuya, or Seyoung?”

“Both.” Heechul nodded slowly in agreement, nuzzled against Jongin’s throat. Jackson pulled away from Seokjin and followed Takuya out of the room. Seokjin pursed his lips, but didn’t follow. “Jongin, have you fed recently?” Jongin nodded, and Heechul kissed his temple gently. “How recently, sweetheart?” Jongin went still, seemed to be thinking over the answer for a few moments.

“A week ago, maybe?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. “I went with Heechul. And Jongdae.” Seokjin seemed satisfied with that answer, and he nodded once, eyes following Heechul as he mouthed at Jongin’s ear. “Heechul, _stop_ , that’s gross.” Heechul chuckled quietly, and pressed a kiss to Jongin’s neck, before nipping at his skin. “You’re horrible.” Jongin went limp, pouting, and Seokjin laughed. “Stop _laughing_ at me!”

Seokjin smiled. “Cute.” Jongin glared at him, and Seokjin walked towards him. “Come here.” Seokjin put out his hands, and after a few seconds, Jongin took them, allowed Seokjin to pull him out of Heechul’s grip. “Hi, sweet boy.” Jongin’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t let it form a full smile. “You’re such a sweetheart.” Jongin hit him gently, and Seokjin growled playfully.

“Get a room, you two.”

Seokjin shot a look at Heechul, grinning. “Would you care to join us, Heechul?” Heechul didn’t say anything, merely gazed at Seokjin. “Come on. We’re really fun, aren’t we, sweet boy?” Jongin nodded quickly, wrapped his arms around Seokjin’s neck, pulled him close. “Well, if you care to join us, we’ll be upstairs.” Without another word, Seokjin took Jongin’s hand, and led him out of the room.

It took Heechul longer than it should have to realize that he couldn’t hear Seyoung anymore.

“Takuya has a very unique taste in men.” Heechul stilled, didn’t turn. “He bleeds so easily. He doesn’t fight unless someone goes after him first.” Heechul frowned, when he heard Hakyeon cross the room. “He is very good at apologizing, though. I’ll give him that.” With that, Hakyeon sat down next to Heechul. “He reminds me of Jongdae, but louder. Much louder.” Heechul finally looked at Hakyeon. He looked flawless, as usual, but there were a few flecks of blood on the corner of his mouth. “For being what he is, he’s much nicer than Jongin. He’s taken to being a vampire a lot better than Jongin did.”

“For being what he is?”

“A hunter. Although, I’m not sure as to how invested he was in being a hunter before we turned him. I get the feeling that he would have fought a lot harder if he’d been bound the way Jongin was.” Heechul hummed quietly in affirmation. “But I also think that Jongin would have fought us no matter what. His family was killed by vampires; he wasn’t fond of our kind in the first place. Him being a hunter only made that worse.” Heechul looked up quickly when he felt Hakyeon’s hand on his thigh. “You’re thinking about something.”

Heechul smiled softly, and curled into Hakyeon’s side, pressed a kiss to each corner of his mouth, before he wiped the blood away with his thumb. “Heechul, sweetheart, tell me what you’re thinking about.” Heechul smiled, kissed Hakyeon gently before pressing his face into Hakyeon’s neck. “You don’t want to?”

“I don’t know what you’ll think.”

“Tell me, princess.”

“But-” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow, and Heechul sighed quietly. “I don’t want you to be mad at me. You’re already upset with Seyoung, I don’t want to make anything worse.” Hakyeon didn’t say a word. “Please don’t make me say it.”

“Sweetheart, if you don’t tell me, I don’t know if I’m angry or not.” Heechul sighed again, shook his head quickly. “If you don’t tell me, I will be angry.”

That seemed to change Heechul’s mind. He looked at Hakyeon for a long moment, and then spoke quietly. “I…I want to take Ryeowook and Minseok and Joonmyun and Jongdae and Jongin and move out.” Hakyeon stilled, and Heechul swallowed hard. “There’s too many of us here, especially now that Jackson and Takuya have all of their families. I don’t think it’s made things easier for Seyoung, having everyone constantly around him. I think it gets on his nerves. I think that that’s why he’s so volatile all the time, because he’s always got someone fawning over him, and he hates it.”

“Interesting.” Heechul didn’t say anything more, merely looked over Hakyeon’s shoulder, avoiding his gaze. “Very interesting.” He put a hand on Heechul’s waist, and then pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “You’ve grown up.” Heechul nodded once, then winced when Hakyeon’s grip tightened. “My princess thinks he’s all grown up, does he? Adorable. Truly, truly adorable.” Heechul bit down on his tongue, fought back a grimace when he felt his bone cracking under Hakyeon’s grip. “Thinks he can go running off.”

“No, Hakyeon, that’s not what I’m trying to do, I’m not running away! I love you, you know I do! You know that I want you to be happy, I just…I think that there’s too many of us here, and I don’t…I don’t think it’s…it’s a good idea to have this many people in one place, especially with all of the new – or newer – vampires here. When you put Jongin and Yugyeom and Mark and Seyoung together in here, with…combined with how volatile some of the older vampires can get…it’s a very bad combination, Hakyeon, you know that.”

Hakyeon hummed quietly, and Heechul swallowed a whine, his mouth falling open. “Oh, I’m sorry, does that _hurt_? Are you in _pain_ , princess?” Heechul shook his head quickly, trying to keep the pain out of his eyes. “Listen, princess. You’d better give me a damn good reason for wanting to leave, and don’t you dare try to lie to me.”

“I’m not-” Hakyeon shoved him, and Heechul flew across the room, hit the wall. “Hakyeon, you know that I want what’s best for my family! I want what’s best for all of us, not just me, but for you, and the others too! You know that Seyoung or Jongin will kill someone if we don’t change something! Jongin needs space, he needs room to grow, you know that.” Hakyeon got to his feet, and walked towards Heechul, who hadn’t moved from where he was sitting on the floor. “You trust me, right? You know I’d never lie, that I want what’s best for them, for us?”

“Tell me, sweetheart, what’s brought this on? You seemed to be just fine a few days ago.”

“Have you seen the way Takuya looks at him? At Seyoung?” Hakyeon nodded once, jaw clenched. “He’s so angry. It’s only a matter of time before that anger goes past Seyoung, and affects someone else. If I can help it, that someone else won’t be one of mine.” Heechul took a deep breath. “You know that I’m old enough to take care of them, and myself. I know that you need to focus on your family, without me getting in the way. I can handle Jongin, you know that. And I can handle the others, too.”

Hakyeon paused to consider that for a moment. “Let me think on it. For now,” he paused, sniffed delicately. “Take Joonmyun and Minseok out. They need to hunt. As do you.”

“I don’t-”

“Are you arguing with me, princess?” Heechul shook his head quickly, avoiding Hakyeon’s eyes. “I didn’t think so. Now, go.”

Without another word, Heechul got to his feet, and left the room quickly.

***

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Jongin looked up quickly when he heard Hakyeon speak, blood smeared across his face. He caught sight of Hakyeon standing by the open door, Heechul and Takuya beside him. Jongin’s eyes widened when he met Heechul’s gaze, and he slipped off of Seyoung’s chest. He looked conflicted, and then swallowed, squared his shoulders. “It wasn’t my fault.” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow, and Heechul mirrored the look. “It _wasn’t_! He started it!”

“Yes, that much is very obvious, based on the way that he’s sustained multiple injuries and you have a whopping total of…none.” Hakyeon and Heechul exchanged a glance, and Heechul walked forward. “Do I look like an idiot to you, Jongin? I know what Seyoung is capable of. I know what he can do, when he fights back. And he very clearly wasn’t fighting.” Jongin opened his mouth to argue, but Hakyeon waved his hand, silencing him. “Heechul, take him out of here.”

Heechul nodded, and hauled Jongin to his feet, pulled him out of the room. As they slipped out, Takuya followed, a stormy look on his face. Seyoung hadn’t moved from the floor, kept his gaze off of Hakyeon. “I didn’t start it.” Hakyeon nodded once, as he moved to kneel beside Seyoung’s body. “I didn’t even fight back.” Another nod, from Hakyeon, as he pulled Seyoung up into a seated position. “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Seyoung shrugged, looked at the ground. He was picking absently at the carpet, and then he looked at Hakyeon, eyes dark and stormy. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Are you sure?”

Hakyeon nodded. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m sure.” Seyoung smiled for a split second, before it faded. “You should have fought back.” Seyoung’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “If you were out in the real world, and you were attacked, I would expect you to fight back. Here is no different. If Jongin starts it, knock him on his ass.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Hakyeon rose to his feet, and after a few seconds, Seyoung did too. He looked at Hakyeon for a long moment, before smiling softly at him.

“I…”

“You?”

Seyoung let out a quiet breath. He stepped closer to Hakyeon, hands fisting in his shirt and tugging gently. “I want you to…to touch me. Please.” Hakyeon hummed quietly, hands skimming over Seyoung’s arms. “Not like _that_ , you know what I meant, Hakyeon, stop being a jerk.” Seyoung pouted, and Hakyeon laughed quietly, pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Please?” He pressed his mouth to Hakyeon’s jaw, before speaking again. “I’ll be good, I’ll be so good, please, I just want you to touch me, all over, everywhere, I want you, please, haven’t I been good, please?”

Hakyeon pressed a kiss to Seyoung’s forehead. “Go wait for me upstairs. I have to speak to Heechul and Jongin, but then I’ll come up to you, alright?” Seyoung nodded quickly, smiling, and Hakyeon grinned in return. He kissed Seyoung one more time, before he made his way out of the room. “Heechul, come here.” A few seconds later, and Heechul stepped out of the shadows, allowed Hakyeon to take his hand, and lead him down the hallway. “Princess, I hope you’re aware of just how angry I am with him. I hope you’re aware of just how much trouble he’s in.”

“I am.”

“Good. Then you’ll understand me perfectly when I tell you that he can’t be here anymore. So, you’ll take him, and Minseok, and Joonmyun-”

“And Ryeowook and Jongdae?”

Hakyeon sighed. “I suppose.” Heechul smiled, and Hakyeon shot a look at him. “You’ll take them all, and you’ll get out. You’ll head to our other territory. It will be yours, I’m giving it to you.” He pulled open a door, and led Heechul out on to the balcony.

They stood there for a long time, in perfect silence, merely watching the world around them. Hakyeon’s fingers traced gently over Heechul’s back, and every time Heechul twitched, Hakyeon chuckled. “You remember what I told you, the first time I gave you my blood?” Hakyeon pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Heechul’s neck, pushing his hair out of the way. “I’m giving you something that’s mine, and I _expect_ you to take care of my things.” Heechul didn’t respond, his hands pressed against the railing of the balcony. “And if you dare to disrespect me, princess, I’ll end you.” Hakyeon was unhappy, with their arrangement, but it was better than losing his eldest. “Keep the kids safe, keep them in line. And remember, princess,” he paused, nosed gently at Heechul’s shoulder. “that I have given you a gift, and I can take it back, whenever I want.”

“I know.” Heechul turned, in Hakyeon’s arms, looked him dead in the eyes. “I know. I’ll take care of it, of them. You don’t have to worry about me. I know what I’m doing, Hakyeon. I did learn from the best.” Hakyeon snorted. _Your flattery will get you nowhere_. “On the contrary. It’s gotten me everywhere, with you.” Hakyeon smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you. For everything.” He paused, bit his lip. “For turning me, and Ryeowook, and Minseok, and Joonmyun, and Jongdae, and Jongin. And for protecting us, and teaching us, and leading us, and giving us what we needed, and never leaving us. And also for giving me everything that you’ve given me. I…it means more than you know.” Hakyeon nodded slowly, leaned forward to press a kiss to Heechul’s jaw. “Hakyeon, I…”

Hakyeon cut him off. “No.” He put a hand on Heechul’s chest, right where his heart had been, when he was human. “Your pain, your emotions, they stay in here. You don’t let anyone see them. If you do, they will use it against you.” Heechul nodded quickly. “Take care of my family. If you don’t…well, Heechul, let it suffice to say that I hate to imagine the state of your pretty skin after I’d be finished.” Heechul nodded once more, straightened.

“I’ll be in touch.” He moved past Hakyeon, hesitating to pull his hand away, until Hakyeon stepped out from under it. “Hakyeon?”

“Heechul.”

“Thank you.” Hakyeon didn’t respond, simply turned to look out over the land again. “For letting them come with me. For letting them go.” When he didn’t get a response, he walked to the door, paused for a split second, before he stepped out of it, leaving Hakyeon alone.

Heechul made his way through the maze of hallways, down the stairs, and out the front doors, where his brothers – his family – were waiting for him. Joonmyun had a hand around Jongdae’s shoulders, was holding the younger close to his body. Ryeowook stood beside Minseok, Minseok’s hand on his elbow. Jongin was alone, trembling, but he relaxed when Heechul put a hand on his wrist, gentle and reassuring. “Let’s go home.”


	6. Chapter 6

Hakyeon looked up when he heard Seyoung sniff delicately, and found the kid standing in the doorway, his arms wrapped around himself. At Hakyeon’s nod, he stepped into the room, and walked towards him, and lowered himself into Hakyeon’s lap. He wrapped his arms around Hakyeon’s neck, and pressed a kiss to his mouth, gentle and soft. When he pulled back, he gazed at Hakyeon for a few moments, before he spoke. “Can I have Heechul’s old room?” He glanced over his shoulder when he heard Jackson snort, and a small smile flicked across his face. When he turned back to Hakyeon, that same smile was mirrored there. “Please?” Hakyeon nodded once, fingers trailing up and down Seyoung’s side. “What happened to Takuya?” He heard a sharp intake of breath, from Jackson, and a soft whine from Yugyeom, but didn’t look at them. “You sent him away, and when he came back, he was angry. I want to understand.”

He heard Jackson urge Yugyeom to his feet, and lead him out of the room, leaving Hakyeon and Seyoung alone. “That is none of your business.” Seyoung pouted, and Hakyeon bared his fangs. “Let it go, Seyoung. It doesn’t concern you.”

“Hakyeon.” Hakyeon didn’t budge. “I want to know. Was it because of me? Was it because of my turning?” There must have been something in Hakyeon’s eyes – or perhaps his mind – that gave him away. “It was because he loved me, wasn’t it?” After a moment, Hakyeon pushed Seyoung off of his lap. “You thought he was weak, because he loved me, because he cared about me. That’s why you sent him away.”

“I sent him away for his own safety.” Seyoung opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Hakyeon cut him off. “His feelings for you made him weak, made him vulnerable, and I won’t allow that, not in my children, not in my family. If you had been taken from us, there would have been nothing that could have stopped him from coming after you, and endangering you both. I won’t take that risk, not with him, not with the rest of you. If it had been you in his position, Seyoung, I would have done the exact same thing.”

Seyoung didn’t say anything for a long time, and in that time, Hakyeon got up, and started towards the door. He paused in the doorframe when he heard Seyoung speak. “Who’s Jianing?”

Hakyeon went still, and looked over his shoulder at Seyoung. “Where did you hear that name?”

Seyoung shrank back. “I…nowhere?”

Hakyeon snarled, and Seyoung moved quickly when Hakyeon came storming across the room towards him. He leaped over the back of the couch, trying to put space between them, but Hakyeon was relentless. He didn’t stop moving until he had Seyoung caged against the wall. “Who told you, Seyoung?”

“I-it was Heechul, he said something about Jianing to Jongin, I think he said that he was praying that we wouldn’t have another one on our hands.”

Seyoung flinched when Hakyeon punched the wall, his fist breaking through the wood, but found he couldn’t go anywhere. Hakyeon was furious, he was practically vibrating with the force of his anger, and Seyoung was trapped in between his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Hakyeon, I didn’t know, I shouldn’t have brought it up, Hakyeon _I’m sorry_ , you’re scaring me.” Seyoung was crying, he dimly realized that, but it wasn’t until Hakyeon slipped a hand underneath his jaw that he realized that the growl had stopped. Hakyeon guided Seyoung back to the couch, gently, and pulled him into his lap. “Hakyeon-”

“Hush.” Seyoung snapped his mouth shut, as Hakyeon pressed his mouth to his shoulder. “Seyoung, look at me.” Seyoung did, and then froze when he caught Hakyeon’s gaze. Almost instantly, he felt his thoughts go blurry. “You’re not going to say his name ever again. You aren’t going to ask anyone about him, not ever. In fact, you’re going to forget about this entire conversation, is that understood?” Seyoung nodded once. “And most importantly, princess, you’re going to forget that you asked me about Takuya, alright?”’

Seyoung barely had time to nod before the door to the room was thrown open. He dimly heard Hakyeon’s snarl, but didn’t really process the noise over the sound of hearts beating. His mouth fell open, and he was vaguely aware that his fangs were out, as he turned in Hakyeon’s lap to face the newcomers.

He was brought up short when he found Takuya gazing at them, his own fangs out, a growl in his throat. There were three humans, each looking terrified in their own right, but Takuya was no longer paying attention to them. He stalked forward, towards Hakyeon and Seyoung, halting only when Hakyeon bared his fangs. “Stay right there.” Takuya growled at him, but Hakyeon waved him off, his arm around Seyoung’s shoulders. “Don’t move.” He rose to his feet, and Seyoung went with him, sinking into the easy weight of Hakyeon’s compulsion as he stepped closer to Takuya. “Welcome home, princess.” Takuya growled again, and Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “What did you find for us?”

Takuya bared his teeth, didn’t say anything. He was trying to resist Hakyeon’s compulsion, and so far, it looked like he was fighting a losing battle. Hakyeon, for all that he loved to play-fight with his children, didn’t seem to be in the mood for Takuya today. His jaw was still clenched when he spoke, indicating that he hadn’t yet let Hakyeon get to him. “Hunters. The ones that attacked Yugyeom last week.” Hakyeon pursed his lips, and Takuya growled. “ _No_ I didn’t go after them, they were in our territory when I came back. I did what any of us would have. Except Seyoung, maybe.” Hakyeon hummed quietly. “He would have eaten them then and there.” Seyoung whined from underneath Hakyeon’s arm, and Hakyeon hushed him quietly. “Oh, shut up. You know it’s true.”

“Takuya.” Takuya growled quietly, Seyoung flinched, and Hakyeon slid his fingers into Seyoung’s hair. “Be nice to him. He’s had a long day, which you’d know if you’d ever bother to be around him.”

“It’s not my fault that you compelled him out of his mind.”

Hakyeon sighed quietly, pulled Seyoung closer to him. “He overheard Heechul and Jongin talking about Jianing. He asked me about it. So, yes, I compelled him. We’ve talked about this.” After a moment, Seyoung moved, pulled out of Hakyeon’s grip, and then wrapped his arms around Takuya, pressed his face into Takuya’s neck. “Don’t you dare hurt him.”

“I would never.” Takuya wrapped his arms around Seyoung’s waist, and pulled him closer, pressed a kiss to his temple. Seyoung whined softly, hands fisting in Takuya’s shirt. “I wouldn’t ever hurt him, you know that, and I think you know why.” Hakyeon nodded once. “And I think that you also know that the only reason that I have ever hurt him was because of you.” Hakyeon looked like he might argue, but didn’t bother. “Let me have him back. I found him first, I have every right to him.” Hakyeon sighed quietly, and then turned his attention to the humans in the room.

“The woman is the one who sent them here the first time. And the taller of the two men, he’s the one who tried to kill Yugyeom.”

Hakyeon walked towards the humans slowly. They didn’t seem to have their stakes, which Hakyeon appreciated. He grabbed the taller man by the forearm, and then shoved him against the wall. “So, you’re the one who tried to kill my baby.” The man didn’t struggle. “Oh, you think you’re so brave. We’ll see how brave you are when there’s five vampires trying to put their fangs in you.” He threw the man across the room. “Alright, babies, go ahead. Dinner time.” Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the others entered the room. “Takuya, I’d take Seyoung upstairs unless you intend to feed him.”

Takuya nodded, and guided Seyoung out of the room with gentle hands. Half a second later, Yugyeom had pressed himself into Hakyeon’s side. “Is Seyoung alright?” Hakyeon nodded, and wrapped an arm around Yugyeom. “Can I have a kiss?” Hakyeon turned his head, allowed Yugyeom to press a gentle kiss to his mouth. “Are you going to- did you punch the wall?” Hakyeon nodded once, and Yugyeom giggled quietly. “What did it ever do to you?” Hakyeon chuckled quietly.

“I lost my temper for a moment.” Hakyeon pulled away from Yugyeom. “Go. Eat.” Yugyeom smiled, and then bounded off to join the others, leaving Hakyeon alone. He slipped out of room, and closed the door, found himself face to face with Seokjin. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”

“And I’m not in the mood to lecture you.” Seokjin linked arms with Hakyeon without much explanation and led him down the hallway. “If you don’t tell Seyoung, someone else will. Would you rather it be Wonho or Casper or one of them?”

“They won’t. They know better.”

“I think that you know just how persistent Seyoung can be. He takes after Takuya.” Seokjin pulled Hakyeon to a halt and turned to face him. Hakyeon was avoiding his gaze. “My dear child, you know how much I care for you.” Hakyeon nodded once. “If you aren’t the one to tell him, he will hate you for keeping it from him. You remember what happened to your brother when you refused to talk to him, what happened to-”

“Seokjin, I get it!” After a long silence, Hakyeon seemed to realize what he had said. “I’m sorry. But I get it.” He turned on his heel, and started to walk away, before he paused. “The second he finds out about Jianing, he’ll want to know exactly what I’ve had done to Takuya. Once he knows that, he’ll want to know what it feels like. And then, he won’t be Seyoung anymore, you know that. You know I’ll lose him if I tell him. I can’t lose him, Seokjin.”

“Do you love him?”

“He’s my _child_ , of course I do-”

“No, he’s not.” Hakyeon’s jaw clenched and he glared at Seokjin. “He is not yours. He is not to you what you are to me. You have absolutely no obligation to keep him safe, not in the way you do with the others. He isn’t your child.”

“Yoongi wasn’t yours, either!”

Seokjin smacked him. Hakyeon fell to the floor, and out of nowhere, he watched someone leap across the room, and collide with Seokjin. Loud growling followed, and then Hakyeon watched as Seyoung flew across the room. He almost hit Takuya, who was standing in the doorway, looking remarkably concerned. He pulled Seyoung to his feet and locked him in his grip. “Let me _go_ , Takuya, let go of me-” Seokjin strode forward and grabbed Hakyeon, hauled him to his feet.

“Shut your mouth, Seyoung.” Seyoung growled, still straining against Takuya’s grip. Seokjin slid a hand under his jaw and tilted his head backwards, gazes locking. “Go upstairs.” Seyoung nodded and Seokjin released him. “Let him go, Takuya.” Takuya did and Seyoung all but ran out of the room.

Hakyeon stepped forward and all but pushed Seokjin out of the way. He got right in Takuya’s face, teeth bared. “You, a word, now.” He grabbed Takuya, and pulled him out of the room, despite Takuya’s struggles.

***

“Seokjin?”

He looked up quickly when he heard Seyoung speak. “Go away.”

“No.” Seyoung came into the room and walked to stand beside Seokjin quickly. “I’m sorry.” Seokjin nodded. “You hit Hakyeon.” Seokjin nodded one more time, before he turned away from Seyoung. “What did he do?”

“Reminded me of my mistakes.”

That brought Seyoung up short. He bit his lip, shifted awkwardly, before he spoke. “Will you tell me?”

Seokjin exhaled, nostrils flaring. He seemed to ponder the idea for a long moment, before he faced Seyoung again. There was something in his eyes, something dark and furious and terrifying. “Hakyeon had a brother once. A real, biological brother, mind you; a brother that he loved more than anything in the world. He would have done anything to keep his brother away from vampires. And I tried to help, of course I did, but there was only so much we could do, with as much as we had to travel, back then. This was before we established a home, a territory; back when we were just rogue vampires.” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “We got word from a friend of ours that the territory that his brother lived in had changed hands, was controlled by a different group of vampires. Of course, this concerned him. We ran as fast as we could.”

“You were too late.”

“Yes.” Seokjin looked away. “We did everything we could to get him out of there, but we were outnumbered. We would have had to rip him out of their hands, and that would have killed him. I couldn’t do that, not to him, not to Hakyeon.” He pursed his lips. “And I doubt that Hakyeon will ever forgive me for it. He blames me, for not going fast enough, for not being strong enough to fight them off, but most importantly, he blames me for taking him away from his brother.”

There was a long silence. “Seokjin?”

“Seyoung.”

“Who’s Yoongi?” Seokjin’s nostrils flared and a quiet growl left his throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…I wasn’t trying to overhear anything, but he…he did say it kinda loud.”

Seokjin waved off the explanation. “Yoongi is – was – my child. Hakyeon and I found him, back when Hakyeon was young, not long after the incident with his brother. We were out hunting; we found him hiding in an ally, barely able to speak because he was so starved.” Seokjin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips before he spoke again. “We adopted him, in a way.”

“Why was he-”

“Most vampire newborns are created by vampires that belong to nests or families, or the like. Groups like ours, groups that stay together, that protect each other, that take care of each other. I’m of the opinion that Yoongi was turned because some idiot vampire didn’t realize that he could turn humans by feeding on them. So, of course, he wakes up after being turned, he’s starving, but he’s trapped by the sunlight. By the time nightfall hits, there’s no one around, and even if there were, he’s too weak to move.”

“You saved him. Just like you saved me.”

“Yes.” They both stilled when someone knocked at the door. “Come in, Takuya.” A moment later, and the door was pushed open slowly, to reveal Takuya. As soon as he saw Seyoung, he crossed the room quickly, and pulled him against his chest. “Takuya, tomorrow night I want you to take Seyoung hunting. And…hm. Bring Mark and Yugyeom with you.”

“Um.”

“Problem?”

“I mean…usually Mark and Yugyeom hunt with Jackson-”

“I’m plenty aware, darling.” Takuya opened his mouth, but Seokjin waved him off. “I want you to take them. All three of them. And when you’re quite finished, I’d like to speak to you, alone.” Takuya nodded once. “Now, I’m sure you two have better things to do than talk to me.” Seyoung laughed against Takuya’s neck. “Get going. And if you see Hakyeon, send him to me.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Go on, you three. Find yourself some food.” Takuya waved them off, and they went gladly, Mark and Yugyeom practically dragging Seyoung down the street. They were fast, faster than he was, but he managed to keep up – though it did mean tugging just a little bit harder than he normally would have, in order to slow them down. They didn’t seem to mind, though.

It wasn’t long before they spotted a human.

Seconds later, they had all dropped down to the street and were mere moments away from converging on their prey. As they got closer, silently, they seemed to hit the one bump in the plan. The human turned around to face them, and right off the bat, Seyoung knew he looked far too calm. He looked at Yugyeom, then at Mark, but neither of them met his gaze, focused as they were on their prey.

Dimly, Seyoung realized that Yugyeom was saying something to the human – probably trying to compel him – but Seyoung couldn’t hear it. All he knew was that he could smell both the magic radiating off of this person and that he knew that posture anywhere. It was hunter posture, but more than that, it spoke of experience dealing with baby vampires.

All at once, Mark and Yugyeom moved.

A split second later, someone had a hand around Seyoung’s throat, and he was being yanked backwards against a body. He made a quiet noise, then a hand was slapped over his mouth. He whined softly, and that got Mark’s attention. He whipped around, spotted Seyoung, then froze. That was a mistake. The hunter moved quickly, until he was holding Mark in place, stake pressed against his back. Even from where he was trapped, he could tell that if the hunter pushed, that stake would kill Mark. He squirmed, trying to break free, but the person holding him was stronger, far stronger, than he was. Vampire, then, based on the smell.

“Stop _squirming_ , baby vampire, or I’ll kill him, and you, and then the other pretty baby.” Seyoung stilled, as did Mark. Seyoung saw Mark swallow hard, glance quickly at Yugyeom. “Which idiot let three pretty babies wander off on their own, hm?” None of them said a word. “Oh, go on, you can tell me.” Carefully, he released Seyoung’s mouth, and poked him in the cheek. “Where’s your maker now, pretty babies?”

Mark broke first. He hissed quietly, bared his fangs at the vampire holding Seyong. “None of your fucking-” He cut off with a gasp, lurching forward. “Fuck you, get that fucking shit away from me-”

“Mark, shut _up_ , you’re going to get us all killed-”

“You should listen to him, you know. Wouldn’t want Hoseokie’s fingers to slip.” Carefully, the vampire’s finger slid across Seyoung’s cheekbone. “Come on, pretty baby, tell me where your maker is.” Seyoung whined softly and the vampire hushed him. “Quiet, pretty baby.” He looked at Yugyeom, then, and spoke. “Here’s an idea. How about you go get him, and we’ll wait here with these two. Sound like a plan?” Yugyeom didn’t say a word.

Seyoung spoke quietly. “Go, Yugyeom. We’ll be okay, as long as Mark doesn’t do anything too stupid.” Mark growled, but they all ignored him. Yugyeom looked near to tears, but nodded once, and slipped into the shadows.

When he returned, Takuya was with him, gripping his wrist and pulling him along, but Jackson was with them as well, looking angry enough to rip the vampire’s arms off – it was just as well, Yugyeom and Mark were his.

“Let him go.” Jackson snarled the words, and made to step forward, but Takuya grabbed him with his free hand, yanked him backwards.

“You’re going to get him killed if you keep that up.” Takuya’s voice was gentle, despite the situation, even when he turned to look at Seyoung and the vampire holding him. He stepped forward slowly, releasing Yugyeom and Jackson as he went, until he was standing right in front of them. “Let them go.” The vampire holding Seyoung merely laughed, grip tightening. “You know that we can have this conversation without you threatening them.”

He huffed out a laugh. “You know we can’t.” The hand around Seyoung’s throat tightened and Seyoung whimpered quietly, gazing at Takuya’s face. “You know that if I hadn’t done this, if I hadn’t gotten your attention, you would have killed me for trespassing without a second thought. I know what your orders are, pretty Takuya.” Takuya’s face didn’t change. “So, how about this. You take me to Hakyeon, I’ll let this scrawny thing go. Hoseokie can keep an eye on that one, and once I get out of there alive, he’ll let him go.” Takuya looked ready to say something, but the vampire cut him off. “Or I could just kill this one.”

Seyoung was dimly aware of just how agitated Jackson was getting, and that was the only reason that he spoke. “Let Mark go, leave me here.”

Jackson stilled, and Takuya growled. “Absolutely not.”

“Aww, pretty baby thinks he’s so smart, don’t you-”

“I’m Hakyeon’s favorite.” That brought the vampire up short. After a moment, he nodded once. Behind them, Seyoung heard the hunter release Mark, then felt the tip of a stake press against his back. There was a hand on his wrist, tugging him backwards, pulling him away from them, before he knew what was happening. The last thing he saw before the other vampires vanished into the darkness was the absolute fury in Takuya’s eyes.

***

“I was a hunter.”

“That’s nice.”

The hunter pressed fractionally harder on the stake and Seyoung winced. “You know I’m not going to run.” After a moment, the hunter threaded his fingers through Seyoung’s hair and yanked his head backwards.

“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.” A moment later, and he withdrew the stake, just long enough to bring his arm around in front of Seyoung and press the tip against his heart. “Maybe I do trust you that much, pretty baby vampire. Maybe I do believe you. Maybe I’m just playing with you for the fun of it.”

Seyoung turned his head as much as he was able. “Let go of my hair.”

“Mm, no.” The next thing Seyoung knew, the hunter had laughed and then yanked harder on Seyoung’s hair. “You’re so _pliant_ when I’ve got you like this.” Seyoung squirmed, and Hoseok’s grip in his hair tightened further. “Stay _still_ , baby vampire, and I’ll think about it.” After a moment, Seyoung stilled in his grip, whining softly. “Mm. I hear Takuya and Yoongi coming this way.”

Seyoung blinked quickly. “Wait, was that-”

He was cut off when the door opened. They looked up quickly, found Hakyeon and Takuya and the other vampire standing in the doorway. Hakyeon met Seyoung’s gaze and motioned him forward without a word. Seyoung moved to get up, but Hoseok held him in place, until the other vampire nodded. He released Seyoung and he ran into Hakyeon’s arms quickly, whimpering quietly. He heard Hakyeon speak quietly above him but held still. “Yoongi, take your fucking hunter and get out of here. If I see your fucking face around here ever again, I’ll fucking kill you.”

After a moment, the vampire turned to look at Hakyeon, smiling. “You can try.” He chuckled quietly as Hoseok rose to join him. “Send Seokjin my regards.”

“I most certainly won’t.”

“Aww, why?”

“You know damn well why, Yoongi. He thinks you’re dead, and we’re going to keep it that way.” Yoongi laughed again, before he took Hoseok’s hand and led him towards the door, edging around Takuya carefully. “Get out of here.” With one arm still wrapped around Seyoung, he watched Yoongi walk out of the room, pulling Hoseok behind him. “Make sure they leave.” Takuya nodded and slipped out of the room after them.

Hakyeon turned to Seyoung, then, put his hands on Seyoung’s shoulder. “Are you alright?” Seyoung nodded. “Did he hurt you?”

“A little bit.” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “He poked me with his stake, just a little bit, and he pulled my hair, but other than that, I’m okay. It didn’t even hurt that much.” Hakyeon sighed quietly, then pulled Seyoung into his arms again. “Was that really Yoongi?” Hakyeon nodded. “I thought he was dead.”

“He’s supposed to be. Seokjin thinks he is. Not many of us know that he’s alive, and I’d rather keep it that way, so don’t tell Seokjin.”

“Why?”

“It would destroy Seokjin if he found out that Yoongi were alive, that Yoongi let him think that he was dead, and that we went along with it.” Seyoung hummed quietly. “I was the first one to find out the truth. Jackson found out by accident, Mark and Yugyeom still don’t know that that’s who that was. Don’t tell them.” Seyoung nodded, wrapped his arms around Hakyeon’s neck and pulled him closer. “He won’t touch you ever again. I promise.”

***

Hakyeon looked up quickly when Takuya entered the room, Yoongi in tow. Once the door was shut behind them, Yoongi ripped out of his grip, and turned to face Hakyeon, fangs bared. “What in the hell is he doing here?”

“I don’t know. He wants to talk to you.” Takuya exchanged a glance with Yoongi, then spoke again. “Hoseok’s in town, too. He has Seyoung.”

Hakyeon got to his feet in a second, growling. “He _what_?” Yoongi laughed quietly, a split second before Hakyeon grabbed him and shoved him into the wall. “What did you do-”

“I did _nothing_. He’s perfectly fine.” Yoongi bared his fangs, straining against Hakyeon’s grip. “He volunteered to stay behind, I would have taken the other one, but he decided to open his big fucking mouth. He reminds me a little bit of Takuya, in that way; incapable of keeping his mouth shut.” Hakyeon growled and Yoongi growled right back. “Get out of my face, Hakyeon, I just want to talk. Then I’ll let your pretty baby go and Hoseok and I will get out of here.”

Hakyeon snarled, but Takuya grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him away from Yoongi. “The longer we wait, the more time we leave Seyoung alone with Hoseok.” Hakyeon growled softly but allowed Takuya to pull him away. “Why are you here, Yoongi?”

Yoongi cackled quietly, leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “Besides the obvious?” Hakyeon bared his teeth. “There’s a group of rogues running loose a few cities South of here. The hunters are getting pissy. Considering it’s _your_ territory, they want you to deal with it.” Hakyeon sighed quietly. “And I want my newborn back.”

Hakyeon’s face closed off immediately. “Absolutely not.”

Yoongi growled. “He’s _mine_ , I have every right to him. _I’m_ his maker, I’m supposed to take care of him, and I can do a much better job of it than you ever could!”

“He doesn’t need to be taken care of, he needs to be put down!” Yoongi snarled, fangs flashing, and Takuya’s grip on Hakyeon tightened. “I don’t need you making him like you. He’s bad enough already.” Yoongi launched himself forward a second later, and collided with them, bringing both Hakyeon and Takuya to the floor. He managed to get his fangs into Takuya’s forearm, before Hakyeon shoved him backwards, growling in his throat. “We took him away from you for a reason.”

“Yeah? What was that?”

“We remember what happened with your _other_ newborn, and we don’t want a repeat.” Yoongi snarled again, looking ready to lunge again.

“And does Takuya know what happened the last time?” Takuya went still, grip on Hakyeon loosening. “Does he know what happened to his pretty boyfriend, does he know why you had to kill my other baby, did he even know that poor, pretty Jianing _was_ my baby, before you killed him, before you ripped out his pretty little heart and crushed it in your bare hands?” Takuya blinked quickly and turned towards Hakyeon, eyes wide. “Oh, somebody never told their favorite baby the truth.” Yoongi cackled as he hauled himself to his feet. “I’m going to get my newborn back soon enough. Even if that means I have to go through you to do it.”

Hakyeon growled. “Take me to Seyoung.”

“Oh, is that the pretty baby’s name? Adorable.”

“Yoongi, shut up or I will rip your throat out, and then your newborn’s, and then I’ll go find Hoseok and break his fucking neck.”

“Aww, so scary.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This does take place in the "current" timeline, about 6 months after the end of Sweet Burn

**Part Three**

_Life_

“Do you have a minute?”

Luhan looked up quickly, found Zitao and Yifan standing in the doorway. He nodded once, and they both entered the office, pushing the door shut behind them. Yifan sat down slowly in one of the chairs opposite Luhan, but Zitao remained standing, a folder in his hand. “Lisa sent me a copy of the most recent reports from the other hunters. Most of it was pretty standard stuff, you know, a rogue here, a stray family there, nothing much of a problem.” Luhan raised an eyebrow as Zitao stepped forward. “And then something caught my eye.” He flipped the folder open and set it down in front of Luhan. After a moment of silence, he placed his finger on the image, pointing at one individual in particular. “Look familiar?”

“That’s-”

“Yes.” Zitao sighed quietly. “That was plenty concern for me, and then I looked harder.” His finger slid a centimeter to the left, to rest on a blurry figure who was very clearly being tugged down the street by the first individual. “It’s blurry, but it’s not hard to figure out. Look at his shoulders.”

After a second, Luhan closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. “You can’t be serious.”

“Unfortunately, I am.”

“How are we…how are we supposed to tell Heechul?”

Yifan looked up, then. “We can’t. Not yet. Not until we understand the situation. We don’t want to get his hopes up.” Carefully, Zitao picked up the folder. “The reason that Zitao was concerned with that region initially was because there’ve been spikes in human death counts. It’s pretty obvious that it’s vampires doing it, they aren’t exactly subtle when they kill things.” Luhan nodded. “Lisa and Jennie don’t think we need to be concerned, because technically, there hasn’t been enough death for it to raise alarm. But, given that picture…I think there’s plenty of reason to be concerned.”

“You think he would-”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s doing.” Yifan let out a quiet breath. “But I do know who made him. I do know what Hakyeon would do, we’ve seen what Hakyeon has done, and I wouldn’t put it past Seyoung to do the exact same thing. And I also think that he has absolutely no problem dragging our hunters down with him, if that’s what it takes. He swore he’d get revenge; and it’s very clear that this is how he intends on doing that.”

“By turning our own kind against us. By pitting hunters against hunters. Because by having a hunter on his side, he learns all of our tricks, he learns how to beat our tricks.” Luhan ran a hand through his hair, then stood. “Get Kibum. And Jongin.” He paused. “And try to contact Seokjin. This is his child’s legacy, that makes it his problem.”

They slipped out of the room quietly, leaving Luhan alone. It was half a second later that Minseok climbed through the window and came to stand beside the hunter. “Shall I go speak to his sister? Find out if she knows anything?” After a moment, Luhan nodded. “It’ll be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

“While you’re out,” He looked up at Minseok quickly. “See what you can do about getting in touch with Takuya’s other kids. Wonho and Sangmin.”

“If they’re working for Seyoung-”

“If he’s anything like Hakyeon, he already knows that we’re onto him. And I would bet that he very intentionally went out in front of that camera. He got them spotted on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Much like Hakyeon, he’s a drama queen. He’s cocky enough to think that he can beat us regardless of how prepared we are.” Minseok wrapped his arms around Luhan’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. “Go. Before the others return.” Minseok nodded and slipped out of the window, leaving Luhan alone.

***

“We can’t keep this from him.”

Yifan opened his mouth to argue, but Kibum spoke before he could. “Jongin’s right. We can’t. We have to tell him at some point.” He swiveled around to look at Luhan. “It’s his mate. He has a right to know.”

“Him knowing will only make this worse. You saw how torn up he was, when Hakyeon killed Leeteuk. We tell him that he’s alive, he’s only going to get his hopes up. We have no idea what Seyoung plans on doing with him, we have no idea if he intends to kill him tonight. Until we know, we can’t afford to tell Heechul.”

Kibum raised an eyebrow. “And how would you feel, if your mate were to die, in your arms, and then suddenly, some of the people you trust most find him alive, and don’t tell you? Would you be okay with that, Yifan?”

“That is not at all what this situation is. Heechul was more upset over not telling Leeteuk the truth than he was about his death-”

“Shut your mouth.” Jongin was on his feet in seconds, pushing Kibum aside so he could get right in front of Yifan. “Don’t you _dare_ talk about him like that.” Kibum grabbed Jongin and pulled him backwards, a split second before Jongin spoke again. “You have no idea what he’s going through, you have no idea how much pain he is in, you have no idea how much he cries, you have no idea how many times I have heard him wake up _screaming_ because it hurts him so much, you have no idea how broken his heart is, so don’t you fucking _dare_ try to tell me that he doesn’t deserve to know that his fucking mate is alive, you stupid piece of shit.” Jongin went limp, then, allowed Kibum to push him out of the way.

“No one ever said that he doesn’t deserve to know.” Luhan’s voice was gentle in the tense silence that followed. “But we have to be careful. We don’t want to tell him and then have him go charging after Leeteuk and then get both of them killed.” He got to his feet slowly, looked at the others, before he spoke again. “Yifan, I want you to take Minho and run a patrol over that way. Tell the hunters there that you were sent to make sure that they weren’t having any trouble with the vampires in the area, reference the spikes in death toll, you know the drill.” Yifan nodded once. “Jongin, please don’t tell your brother, not yet. We will, in time, I promise, but right now we have to be patient with this.” Jongin nodded slowly. “Kibum-”

“Keep an eye out for them, I know.” He tapped his temple twice, sardonically. “Already on it.”

“Thank you.”

***

“What’s on your mind?”

Kibum looked up at Youngbae, smiling tightly, before resting his chin on his hands. “Everything.” Youngbae chuckled quietly, then lowered himself into Kibum’s lap, pressed a kiss to Kibum’s cheek. “Between finding our mystery sorcerer and the guy that cursed Zitao, everything.” Youngbae nodded once, smiling, then his face went serious again. “What’s on _your_ mind?”

“Could they be the same person?”

Kibum stilled, eyebrows drawing together. “I…” He paused, cocked his head to the side in thought. “I never thought about that.” He looked at Youngbae, then made a thoughtful noise in his throat. “I’ll have to look into that.”

Youngbae smiled, leaning into Kibum’s body. “There’s something else, something you aren’t telling me.” Kibum didn’t say anything, and after a moment, Youngbae poked him gently in the cheek. “What is it?” 

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Bullshit.” Kibum sighed. He held out one hand, and after a moment, Youngbae took it gently. He closed his eyes, allowed Kibum to press gentle into his mind. A split second later, he gasped, and pulled away. “Are you serious-”

“Shh.” Kibum kissed Youngbae gently, almost just to shut him up. “It’s got to be kept quiet. We can’t tell anyone, okay?” Youngbae opened his mouth to say something, but Kibum cut him off. “I’ll tell you more, later. When we’re at home, alone. I promise. But not now, okay?” Youngbae frowned. “I promise. It needs to be kept as hush-hush as possible.”

After a moment, Youngbae relented, ran his hand through Kibum’s hair. “Fine.” He nosed at Kibum’s cheek for a second, before pulling him into a gentle hug. “You look exhausted.” Kibum smiled, one arm winding around his waist. “Why can’t we tell anyone?”

Kibum sighed quietly. “I told you, I’ll explain later. I promise, I’ll tell you everything, but we can’t do it here.” Youngbae hummed quietly. “Please trust me?”

“I do trust you, you know that.”

“Be patient for me. I’ll make it worth your time.” Kibum pressed a kiss to Youngbae’s mouth, fingers finding their way underneath his shirt.

“Oh.” Youngbae made a soft noise in his throat, blinking quickly. “ _Oh_. Okay. I can do that.” He smiled as Kibum kissed him again. “I can be patient. I can be so fucking patient.”

“I believe you.” Youngbae laughed quietly as Kibum got to his feet, pushing Youngbae up with him. “Come on, let’s get you home.” Youngbae nodded quickly, allowed Kibum to pull him towards the door. “How about you zap us home, yeah? Makes my life easier.”

“I…yes. Yes, that…I can do that.” Kibum laughed quietly at how breathless he sounded. “Stop laughing at me.”

Kibum took his hand, smiling. “No.”

The next thing either of them knew, a giant explosion had shaken the room. Kibum whipped around, only to find that the far side of the room was being enveloped in flames. Beside him, he heard Youngbae say something, but he shook it off quickly. “Get the others out of here, help get the hunters out.” When Youngbae didn’t move, Kibum shoved him towards the door.

Without looking to make sure that Youngbae actually went, Kibum started towards the fire. The heat licked at his skin as he got closer, but the flames didn’t touch him, moved around his body as he continued forward. Through the fire, he could see a shadowy figure standing near the window, and as he came forward, the image became clearer.

“You know, there are easier ways to reach out to me than by setting this fucking library on fire. There was a lot of valuable shit in here.” The figure didn’t speak. “Not that you care about that. Your only goal is to destroy as many things, and as many people as possible, isn’t it?”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, baby sorcerer?” The figure moved, then, and started to circle Kibum, every movement predatory.

“You say baby like I’ve been practicing for six months.” Kibum didn’t turn to watch him. “What kind of sorcerer are you?” He didn’t get a response. “What kind of sorcerer helps vampires like Hakyeon?” Still, no response. “Why would the gods let you, that’s the real question.”

The figure came to stand in front of him again. “I never claimed to ask their permission.” He stepped closer and Kibum tensed. “I got sick of playing good sorcerer, I got sick of playing by the rules. So, I made my own.” The next thing Kibum knew, the figure was in his personal space, mere inches away. “I play by my own rules. If that means I help my friends out from time to time, so be it. The gods haven’t stopped me in six hundred years, I highly doubt they’ll stop me now.”

Carefully, Kibum pulled the silver bracelets out of his pocket. “I’m assuming you know what Hakyeon did with these.” The sorcerer laughed, once finger hooking into the bracelets and tugging. They didn’t leave Kibum’s grip. “Why?”

“I told you. I help my friends, on occasion. When they ask, when they really need me to. When stupid hunters can’t take a hint.” One hand slipped underneath Kibum’s jaw, cold despite the fire that surrounded them. “Because _you_ couldn’t take a hint.” Kibum didn’t say a word as the sorcerer moved closer into his personal space. “I did warn you, on more than one occasion. I showed you exactly what would happen if you didn’t _listen_ to me, if you didn’t stop sticking your nose into other people’s business. I’ve been in your head for a number of years now, you should have known this was coming, and if you had really wanted to keep me away from your friends, you would have kept them out of my business.”

“And what are you going to do about it now?”

A moment later and the sorcerer was laughing, his grip on Kibum tightening. “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

The sorcerer withdrew, then, but Kibum grabbed his wrist and yanked him backwards. “You’re the one who cursed Zitao, aren’t you?” The sorcerer laughed again, nodded. Kibum moved quickly, then, drawing his stake and tackling the sorcerer to the floor.

“Oh, go ahead. Stab me. See where that gets you.”


	9. Chapter 9

Minho nearly jumped out of his own skin when he walked into his home and spotted two vampires sitting on the couch, opposite Taemin. He opened his mouth to ask, but before he could, one of the vampires had gotten to his feet and flitted over to stand in front of him. Minho growled and drew his stake, but before he could actually move, Taemin was on his feet as well, one hand on Minho’s wrist. “They aren’t here to hurt us. They came to offer their help. From what I understand, they know something important, they wouldn’t say until you got here.”

Minho didn’t budge, even when the vampire stepped backwards. The other one joined him quickly, before either of them spoke. In the back of his mind, Minho recognized the one that was speaking – the first one that had approached him – as Sangmin, one of Takuya’s children. “We know you don’t want to see us, and we understand that you don’t trust us. But there is something that you need to know. It’s about what happened at the…at the end of that battle. Seyoung promised his revenge, which you know.”

“Tell Luhan, if it’s so important.”

Wonho bristled. “We couldn’t get within five hundred feet of your headquarters without being staked seven ways to Sunday, and you know it. We won’t sacrifice our lives for you people.”

Sangmin waved him off. “You remember what happened with Heechul’s mate.” Minho nodded, jaw clenching. “He…he’s not dead.”

“He- _what_?” Minho took a moment to try and piece together what Sangmin had just said. “Yes, he is.”

Sangmin shook his head. “He’s not. He’s alive. Or, well, as alive as a vampire can be.” Minho made a soft noise, ran a hand through his hair. “Seyoung has him.”

“ _What_?” Minho spat the word. A split second later, he had broken out of Taemin’s grip and grabbed Sangmin by the front of his shirt, yanking him forward. “And you’ve known about this for how long, now?” Sangmin didn’t say anything, but there was a very clear answer written all over his face. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. Did it ever occur to you that we might want to know about this? Did it ever cross your tiny, pea-sized brain that the other hunters might be interested to hear this? Did you ever once _think_ that maybe, just maybe, knowing this would have saved us, and the vampires, so much pain and suffering and anger?”

Sangmin finally ripped out of his grip. “Of course I did! I was a hunter just as much as you are now, I know what that bond is like, I know what that feels like! Did it ever cross your fucking mind that I came as quickly as I could, as soon as I could get away from Seyoung?”

Minho looked about ready to throw a punch, but Taemin grabbed him, pulled him away. “Stop it. He did everything he could.” Minho crossed his arms over his chest but let Taemin pull him into the kitchen. “I called Luhan, I talked to him.” Minho raised an eyebrow. “He already knew. I- apparently Zitao saw something in the hunter reports that alerted them to it. They don’t want it to get back to Heechul, not yet, because he hasn’t figured out what he wants to do about it. We don’t know enough about the situation- oh.” He turned quickly, then walked back towards Wonho and Sangmin. Minho followed, begrudgingly.

“You want to know how Seyoung is treating him.”

“Yes.”

Wonho exhaled quietly, exchanged a glance with Sangmin before he spoke. “At first, he…he was horrible. He tortured Leeteuk, he starved him, he did everything he could to make him suffer, break him down.” Wonho looked terrified at the mere thought of what Seyoung had done. “And then…well. When he had broken Leeteuk down, completely shattered everything – physically and mentally – then he finally switched gears. He’s been so nice to him, so completely and sickeningly kind. He’s manipulating him, making Leeteuk think that the hunters abandoned him, that he saved him, that he’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to Leeteuk, that he should be glad that he has Seyoung, and that he should pay him back at every opportunity.”

“He’s brilliant.” Taemin breathed out the words, and Minho growled. “No, I don’t mean that I’d do it. But, I mean, if you really want revenge, what better way to get it than to turn a hunter against their own kind?”

“Leeteuk gave him all of the hunters’ secrets.”

Minho made a face. “That was to be expected. That’s why we change our strategies so quickly. It started after Han Geng was taken, because we couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t break. Vampires can be very creative, very…compelling.” Taemin cracked a smile. “We have to get him out of there.”

“Even if you do, what would you do with him?” Sangmin spoke, then, his voice quiet. “It’s not like he’s waiting for his hunters to come save him. He’ll kill you if he gets the chance, that’s how broken he is, that’s how Seyoung’s made him.” Minho made a quiet noise in his throat as Sangmin continued. “It’s far more likely that you’ll have to kill him. The process to undo what Seyoung has done…it’s so complicated, so time-consuming. I’ve never actually seen it work, though Hakyeon’s attempted it a number of times, just to see if he could.”

Minho stepped forward, right into their personal space. “We will get our hunter back. That’s what hunters do. We will do whatever it takes to have him back with us, vampire or not.”

“How truly noble of you.” Sangmin’s words were dry. “I forgot how loyal hunters can be. How fiercely you cling to your bonds.” He pulled Wonho away from Minho. “Go ahead, then. I’ll make sure I’m around to say that I told you so.” Without another word, he tugged Wonho towards the door, ignoring whatever Wonho had to say.

***

“That sorceress, the one that showed you the visions,” Jackson turned to look at Heechul. “She was wrong.” Jackson nodded slowly, glanced past Heechul at the sleeping vampires on the couch. “She saw Leeteuk as a vampire.” Heechul leaned against the wall, as Jackson came towards him, a necklace in his hand. “Funnily enough, I think he’d rather be dead than be like us. He told me that, once.” Jackson didn’t speak. “We were fighting. It was after Siwon turned, after Seokjin had turned Kyungsoo.”

It flashed through his head all too quickly.

 _“I’d rather be_ dead _than be a monster like you! I would rather a vampire break my neck right now than be turned into a killer, a murderer.”_

“Heechul-”

“I knew that vampires killed his family. I knew that that was why he became a hunter, why he does what he does, why he is what he is. But I didn’t…I didn’t want to be the monster that he thought all vampires are.” Jackson nodded. “He showed me a picture, of his family. He had two younger sisters. And all of them were killed when he was, like, seven.”

“Did he ever find who did it?”

“Well, yes.” Heechul exhaled, nostrils flaring. “Jackson, you remember how I was, even just a few years ago?” Jackson nodded, concern pulling his eyebrows together. “Leeteuk found the vampire who killed his parents, he certainly did. He just didn’t know that that’s who he was looking at.”

Jackson’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Would I lie about this?”

“ _Heechul_.” The word came out strained, like he had to force it out of his throat. Behind Heechul, he saw Mark sit up, blinking sleepily, before extracting himself from the pile that he and the others had formed. He made his way towards Jackson slowly, pressed into his side gently. “You…oh gods. You never told him?” Heechul shook his head. “Why- how could you not have told him?”

“First and foremost, because he would have killed me for it, which would have been perfectly justified, but I…it would have hurt him more in the long run if he had. And also, because it was the last polite conversation we had before…well. Before Youngjae went to see him, before we started fighting again. I wasn’t going to add fuel to that fire, especially not if he wasn’t going to let me talk to him.” Heechul turned away from Jackson, towards the window. “Believe me, my biggest regret is not being honest with him. He deserved everything, he deserved the truth.”

They both turned when the door opened, to find a woman standing in the doorway. Jackson sighed quietly, then motioned her forward. He walked across the room and that was when Heechul noticed the other woman with her. They made their way over to them, before the first woman spoke quietly. “Would you like the good news or the bad news?”

“Both.”

She smiled at Jackson rather fondly. “The good news is that we figured out who gave Hakyeon his power.” He raised an eyebrow. “The bad news…well. There’s two pieces of bad news. The first is that that individual has blocked me out of the spirit world, so I can’t…I can’t see anything more. The second is that he’s taken that other sorcerer, the pretty one. Heechul’s brother.” Heechul straightened at that, fury lighting up in his eyes. “I…he’s far more powerful than I thought he would be. He’s dangerous, so dangerous. It would seem that he strayed from the gods a great many years ago, and has been exercising his power ever since. He doesn’t listen to reason, he does what he wants, when he wants, to who he wants. If that means destroying entire families, then so be it.” Something seemed to come to her. “Oh. There’s a third piece of bad news.” Jackson made a soft noise, and Mark whined against his shoulder. “Heechul, your home was attacked. That’s when Kibum was taken.”

***

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’ve answered that already.” The dark figure stepped forward, touched a gentle hand to Kibum’s face. “I want to. If I want to do something, then I do it. I don’t play by the gods’ rules, I play by my own. Everything that I do, I do because it is my desire.” His thumb dragged along Kibum’s cheekbone gently, still failing to pull a reaction from the sorcerer. “Your brother just heard of what I did. He wasn’t home when I attacked, he wasn’t there when you were taken. He feels so guilty.” The figure closed his eyes, smiling. “Oh, he’s so mad at me. It’s his fault, or so he thinks, that this happened.” He scoffed. “As if he’d have been able to stop me.” His fingers withdrew slowly, dragging across Kibum’s skin one final time. “Oh, pretty Kibum.”

He stepped away from Kibum slowly, a soft smirk on his face. “They’ll come looking for you, soon, I have no doubt about it. They love you so much, especially that pretty vampire. What’s his name?”

“Youngbae.”

“Youngbae. He sounds lovely.” He sat down gingerly in a chair, crossed one leg over the other. “I can’t wait to meet him. I can’t imagine that he’s half as calm as you are, pretty Kibum; vampires are very impatient. But you know all about that, don’t you?” No response. “I imagine he’ll try to rip my head off in about three seconds. That should be entertaining. For me, of course, not for him.”

“You won’t touch him.”

The figure’s eyebrow cocked up in curiosity. “Oh?” He smiled. “ _Oh_. Oh, have I touched a nerve? Do you…Kibum, is it possible that you care about – no, that you, maybe, _love_ \- this vampire, this…Youngbae?” Kibum didn’t reply. “Oh, I think it is. I think you’ve finally found the one person who could change your sweet little mind about vampires. Is he the one exception to your rule?

“What rule would that be?”

“All vampires are evil, remember?”

“I never once said that.”

“Oh, but you definitely thought it, pretty Kibum.” The figure laughed softly. “Now I really can’t wait to meet him. To meet the man that changed your life.”


	10. Chapter 10

Jonghyun was greeted by the sound of Heechul yelling as soon as he stepped in the door. He sighed quietly, then made his way down the hallway, taking his time, ignoring the looks that the other hunters shot his way. So, Luhan wanted to keep this meeting private – well, as private as Heechul would let him. He did pause, however, when he heard Seokjin yell back. That was new. That was one vampire that rarely, if ever, raised his voice, especially if he was speaking to hunters. Jonghyun stopped outside the door, gave them a moment to shut themselves up before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“You realize, I hope, that every hunter in this damn building can hear you, never mind the vampires.” Heechul snarled at him, fangs bared. He made to step closer, but Ryeowook grabbed his arm and held him back as Jonghyun came closer to them. “Before we waste our time, I already know what happened with Kibum. Youngbae called me.” Luhan nodded once, as Jonghyun moved to stand beside him. “But that’s not all that we’re arguing about, is it?”

Heechul exhaled, a growl in his throat as he did. “Did you know, about Leeteuk?”

Jonghyun looked hesitant to speak. “I…” He glanced at Luhan, who looked just as interested in the answer as Heechul. “I did. But, in my defense, I only knew because Kibum is hopeless at protecting his thoughts when Youngbae’s around. As soon as he showed Youngbae, I saw it.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it?”

“This happened, like, half an hour ago, calm down.” Heechul growled again and Jonghyun glared at him. “They kept it quiet to keep you from charging after him. We don’t want you to die, for two very obvious reasons. One, because, if we do get Leeteuk back, it’ll break his heart, and two, because I don’t want to die, and we don’t want Kibum to die.”

Heechul bared his fangs, and then Minseok intervened. “We’re going to figure this out. We have to. We have to get Leeteuk away from Seyoung, yes, and we also have to get Kibum away from this sorcerer.” He looked around at the group that had gathered. “We know that he’s blocked our neighborhood sorceress from seeing him, which means we can assume that he’s blocked the others that could help us. Our one sorcerer has been kidnapped, so we really have very limited options when it comes to tracking this guy down.”

“We know that he is more than willing to kill people, that he doesn’t follow the gods like the other sorcerers that we know.” It was then that Jonghyun noticed both Wonho and Sangmin sitting on the couch, trying to stay as far away from the others in the room as possible. “I’m willing to bet that he’s working with – or for – Seyoung.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know, maybe the fact that Seyoung’s living in a giant fucking underground palace that none of you know about and that no human is ever going to find alone, because it’s been fucking magically hidden!” Wonho went silent, then, breathing harsh. Sangmin hushed him gently, mouthed an apology at Luhan. A split second later, Wonho leaned forward again. “And no, we can’t take you there, for two reasons. One, I don’t want Seyoung to kill me, nor do I want him to have this sorcerer kill me, and two, because you have to have _permission_ to get in, or the doors don’t open, and I can guarantee that Seyoung doesn’t want to see us right now.”

Seokjin cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Would it be possible for us to track his scent and then wait for him to come out?”

“If this sorcerer is as powerful as we assume that he is, he’ll know we’re there, and tell Seyoung. Even if he’s not, Seyoung isn’t stupid, he’ll figure it out pretty damn quick.” Luhan ran his hands through his hair, then stood up and walked towards the window. “Zitao, are Lisa and Jennie caught up on all of this?” Zitao hummed his affirmation. “Alright.” He held still for a long time, clearly deep in thought. “I want a word with Heechul, Jonghyun, and Seokjin, alone.” Slowly, the others in the room left. Minseok held back for a moment, to wrap an arm around Luhan’s shoulders, and breathe out a quiet _I love you_ into his ear, before leaving.

As soon as the door closed behind him, the tension in the room skyrocketed. Luhan could feel it thrumming in the air, though none of them actually said anything for a solid five minutes. It was Heechul that spoke first, his voice low and angry and overwhelmingly dangerous. “Why would you keep this from me?” After a moment, Luhan turned to look at him. “I thought he was dead, Luhan. I held his body in my arms, my brother had to rip me away from his body. I cried for _months_ , I didn’t speak to my family for _weeks_ , I didn’t leave my room for _days_ , because I believed that he was dead. Why didn’t you tell me that he was alive?”

It took Luhan a moment to speak. He looked at Jonghyun, who was avoiding his gaze, and Seokjin, who didn’t seem to be completely paying attention, before meeting Heechul’s gaze again. “Heechul, I am sorry. So completely and utterly sorry. I didn’t know what to do. Zitao told me about this and I froze. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. All I knew was that I had to protect as many of my people as possible. That meant keeping the hunters out of the situation before we had it figured out, which meant keeping you out of the situation. You know that they – we – would have followed you, without a doubt, because we love him. But that would have ended badly, for all of us, and I think you know that.”

Seokjin spoke, then, voice quiet. “He’s right, Heechul. We have to be careful. The last thing we want is to push Seyoung to the point where he hurts – or, gods forbid, kills – Leeteuk.”

“I know that.” Heechul sounded about three seconds away from crying. “I…I’m going home.” He left the room without another word. Seokjin followed a moment later.

“I want my brother back.”

“I know.” Jonghyun rolled his eyes and Luhan shot him a look. “Stop that. I might not know how you feel, but I know that you want him back. We all want him home.”

“He and Heechul are all I have left.” Luhan nodded slowly. “If Kibum dies, so do we.”

***

“Hello, pretty Seyoung.”

His eyes blinked open slowly, to find Seyoung sitting up in bed, looking disgruntled and annoyed, but not truly angry – no, not Seyoung, he was never angry – as he gazed at the individual standing in the doorway. He didn’t move as the figure came closer, and even with his good eyes, he couldn’t see the person’s face. “What’re you doing here? It’s too early for this.”

“It’s four in the afternoon.” Seyoung shrugged as the newcomer came to a halt at the foot of the bed. “We’ve got the sorcerer. He’s being surprisingly cooperative.” Seyoung sighed quietly. “Yes, that could have waited until morning. But we have other news.” That didn’t garner much more than a quiet huff of breath from Seyoung. “The hunters spotted you. Well, you were caught on camera, and one of the hunters noticed. They’ve drawn the connection between you and the sorcerer’s kidnapping far quicker than we expected. Should we be prepared for-”

“No.” Seyoung shook his head once, as if to emphasize the point. “No. They aren’t stupid enough to come here. They know who I have, they know what I’ll do.” He paused. “Please leave. I was trying to sleep.”

As soon as the door closed, Seyoung flopped back down onto his back. “Come here, bunny.” It took a moment for his companion to obey, sluggish and sleepy as he was, but when he did, he was rewarded with a gentle hand in his hair, fingers scratching at his scalp. “We woke you, didn’t we?”

“I don’t mind.”

“It was still rude.” Carefully, Seyoung’s fingers trailed down his neck, onto his back. “I’ll make it up to you. Would you like that?” He got a quiet hum of affirmation. “Such a sweet bunny, aren’t you?” A sleepy nod followed, as Seyoung turned to face his companion. “How would you like me to make it up to you, hm? What does pretty bunny want from me?” He spoke the words against a soft mouth, not quite kissing. “You can tell me, sweet bunny.”

“Can I have a kiss?”

“Is that all you want?”

“No, I wanna think about it first.” Seyoung laughed quietly, then pressed a kiss to his mouth. It was chaste and sweet and gentle, and when he pulled away, he got a whine in response. “You remember when, like, two weeks ago, you, um, you- oh my gods, this is so embarrassing.” Seyoung smiled softly, nodded once. “I want to- I want to do that again. Please.” Seyoung slipped a hand underneath his jaw and tipped his head back, before leaning in to kiss him again, just as gentle as before. “ _Please_.”

“Oh, sweet bunny, you’re so precious.” With gentle hands, he moved them both, pressing his companion down into the mattress. “Stay still, baby, I’ll take care of you.” He hummed quietly as Seyoung pressed gentle kisses down his spine.

“Seyoung?”

“Baby bunny.”

“Why did you save me?” Seyoung didn’t stop what he was doing, his fingers trailing down soft skin. “Why’d you bring me back? Why’d you bring me here?” He still didn’t get a response. “Do they think I’m dead?”

“Yes.” Seyoung paused for a second. “That’s why they left your body behind, you know that. We’ve talked about this, Jungsoo, baby.” He nodded slowly as Seyoung’s fingertips dragged over his hole gently. “I saved you because I saw your potential. You’re going to be so powerful, baby bunny. They didn’t see what you could be, they only say what you were.” With each word that left his lips, Jungsoo’s mind cleared more and more, until all that was left was _Seyoung_. “You’re so pretty, sweet bunny.”

Jungsoo really didn’t bother to think much after that. All he knew was that Seyoung was touching him, hands gentle on his skin, mouth pressed against his shoulder as he moved, sweet words whispered into his skin. When Seyoung finally pulled away, he rolled onto the bed beside Jungsoo, fingers still dragging along his skin gently. Jungsoo couldn’t really put his thoughts in a straight line, but he did roll onto his side and curl into Seyoung’s side, whining softly when Seyoung shifted slightly. “Shush, bunny.” A soft whimper met his ears and he smiled, pulling Jungsoo on top of him and holding him against his chest. “You’re such a whiny bunny.”

“Shut _up_ , you think I’m adorable.” Seyoung laughed quietly. “Go back to sleep. You were bitching earlier about how early it was.”

“Oh, you’re so sassy, even when you’re fucked out and lost in your own head.” Jungsoo smacked his chest lightly but burrowed his head into Seyoung’s neck. “Go to sleep, pretty bunny. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“When you found me, in the throne room,” he paused, looked up at Seyoung for a moment. Their gazes locked and Jungsoo whined, before he looked away, “had they left me behind?”

“Most of them didn’t spare you a second glance.” Jungsoo made a quiet noise. “Heechul and Jongin both stopped, but not for very long. Only long enough to confirm that you weren’t waking up.”

“But I _did_.”

“I know, bunny. They didn’t know that. They weren’t patient enough to see it, they didn’t think you would.” Jungsoo whined softly. “Don’t worry, baby, I’m here for you now.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Four**

_Bleed_

“Hakyeon?”

“Seyoung.” Hakyeon didn’t turn as Seyoung crossed the room slowly and came to a halt behind him. He wrapped his arms around Hakyeon’s shoulders, pressed a gentle kiss into his hair, before pulling away. “Sweetheart, where’s Takuya? He was supposed to take you out hunting today.” He heard, rather than saw, Seyoung shrug, the movement rustling the material of his clothes. “Alright. Are you hungry?” Seyoung made a quiet noise in his throat, which Hakyeon took as a yes. “Take Casper and Sangmin with you. If you see Takuya on the way out, let him know that I want to speak with him.”

“I will.” Seyoung pressed one more kiss to Hakyeon’s head, before he slipped away, leaving Hakyeon alone.

“He’s precious.” Hakyeon nodded in agreement as another figure stepped into the room, through the shadows. He made his way towards Hakyeon, came to a halt beside him, leaning against the desk. “He has a very bright future, that one. He’s going to do great things.” Hakyeon smiled fondly. “You, on the other hand…sweet Hakyeon, you know I wouldn’t lie to you.” Hakyeon nodded when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gentle, as always. “Your future interests me a great deal.”

“How so?”

“There’s so much darkness. So many bad things, though many of them you wouldn’t be able to stop if you tried.” Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself into Hakyeon’s lap, fingers gentle on his shoulder. “There’s so much death, Hakyeon. And so much blood.” His fingers brushed over Hakyeon’s neck, then tucked underneath his collar, tugging it back to reveal the black mark on Hakyeon’s collarbone. “Oh, how pretty. You’re so pretty, Hakyeon.” Hakyeon didn’t say anything as fingers trailed down his chest, as far as his shirt would allow them to go.

“Why are you here?” The man laughed quietly, eyes dancing as he gazed at Hakyeon. “I do believe that I told you I didn’t want to speak to you until you had done as I asked. Did you?” Slowly, the man rose to his feet, then pulled something out of his pocket, held it up for Hakyeon to examine. When Hakyeon made to take it in his own hand, the man snatched it away, chuckling quietly. “Those are mine, you know that.” The only response he got was a soft laugh. “You know I won’t play your stupid games, Taeyong.” The man giggled softly at Hakyeon’s use of his name, then pocketed the item again. “I’ll kill you.”

“No, you won’t. I haven’t done anything wrong.” Hakyeon opened his mouth to argue and Taeyong hushed him. “All you asked was that I make them for you. You never told me that you wanted them after I had finished them.” They both looked up quickly when the door opened, and Taeyong smiled, stepped away from Hakyeon. “Hello, pretty Seyoung.” Seyoung didn’t say a word as Taeyong came closer to him. “Oh, look at you, you’re such a darling. You really are Hakyeon’s child, aren’t you?”

“Hakyeon-”

“Don’t touch him, Taeyong.” He heard Taeyong’s disgruntled sigh, watched as the sorcerer moved to stand mere inches from Seyoung. Seyoung was trembling, held in place by his fear, hands locked at his sides. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on him.”

“I would never.” Taeyong’s voice was quiet, his breath washing over Seyoung’s face. “He’s so fucking _pretty_ , Hakyeon.” Seyoung didn’t make a sound as he gazed over Taeyong’s shoulder at Hakyeon, very intentionally not looking at the man in front of him. “Look at me, pretty Seyoung, I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“I’ll kill him if he touches you, Seyoung.” Seyoung swallowed hard, shook his head just the slightest bit, and Hakyeon smiled. “Fair enough.”

Taeyong pouted. “Why _not_? Am I not fun enough for you?”

After a moment, Seyoung met his gaze, eyes dark. In them, Taeyong didn’t find the fear that was radiating from the rest of his body. No, in Seyoung’s eyes, he found anger, fury. “You were there the night I was turned.” Hakyeon stiffened and rose to his feet, sensing the change in Seyoung’s demeanor immediately. “You were the one who told them to turn me, to hold me down and bleed me until I died. You were the one who told them to choke me when I started to scream.” All it took was a split second and Taeyong was flying across the room and hitting a wall. “You were the one who told them to take whatever they wanted from me, because they wouldn’t be there when I woke up, because I wouldn’t ever see them again, because I wouldn’t remember their faces when I finally came back to reality.” Seyoung crossed the room quickly and Hakyeon could see his fangs sliding free. “You stood there and you _watched_ as they put their hands on me, knowing full well that I could feel everything, that I would have begged them to stop if I had been able to speak. You could hear it, in my mind, you could hear me pleading with you to tell them to stop and you did _nothing_.” He came to a halt in front of Taeyong’s form, trembling, fangs fully extended. “I begged you to kill me, I begged you to make them stop, and you didn’t.” He was on the verge of tears, that much Hakyeon knew. “So, no, Taeyong. You’re not _fun enough_ for me.”

Taeyong didn’t say anything for a long time. He didn’t look at all shaken up by the encounter, didn’t look like he really acknowledged the weight of Seyoung’s words. After a moment, he cocked his head to the side in thought, before he spoke, voice just the same as it had been before. “Well, that’s a pity.” He didn’t look over as Hakyeon approached, though he definitely knew he was there. “You had such a pretty future.” Seyoung didn’t say a word, not even when Taeyong stepped forward, their noses an inch apart. “But you touched me, pretty Seyoung, and no one touches me unless I tell them that they can.”

He hit Seyoung, hard, and he flew across the room, landed in a heap against the wall. He was on his feet in a second, flitting back across the room towards Taeyong, only to be thrown backwards by an icy cold blast of magic. He landed on his back, that time, and when he opened his eyes, he found the sorcerer standing over him, lips pursed, frustration evident in his eyes. “Such a pretty baby. There were so many things that you were going to do.” Seyoung made to stand up, but Taeyong waved his fingers, and Seyoung found himself pinned to the floor. “What a shame.”

In that moment, Seyoung knew he would have died, had the door not swung open. A streak of black flew across the room, colliding with Taeyong and throwing him to the floor. A second figure knelt beside Seyoung and pulled him to his feet, towards the door. Before they could get far, though, Taeyong was already standing in the doorway, looking more pissed off than Hakyeon had ever seen him – and he had seen Taeyong at his very worst.

“Give him to me, Casper.” The vampire holding Seyoung shook his head, stubborn, and Taeyong sighed quietly. “Should I kill you, too, then?”

“He’s just a baby, Taeyong.” Casper’s grip tightened, almost possessive. “He didn’t know.” His words didn’t seem to be doing much to persuade Taeyong to change his mind. “He didn’t know the rules about touching. He didn’t know how powerful you were. Please don’t kill him.” Taeyong raised an eyebrow and Casper whined softly. “No, Taeyong, _don’t_ -” He fell to his knees with a scream, releasing Seyoung as he went. A split second later, and Takuya was at Seyoung’s side, gaze locked on Taeyong.

“You forgave me when I made the same mistake, for the same reason.” Taeyong rolled his eyes and Casper screamed again. “Leave Casper be, he has nothing to do with this.” Very slowly, Takuya stepped forward, put himself in between Taeyong and the others. “If you want to hurt someone, Taeyong, hurt me. It’s my fault, I didn’t tell him. He’s mine, I’ll take full responsibility for his mistake. Just let him be.”

Taeyong reached forward and grabbed Takuya by his shirt, tugged him down so they could be eye-to-eye. “Fine. This once, because he’s yours. Don’t push your luck.” Without another word, he released Takuya, then vanished into a column of smoke, leaving them alone.

***

“You’re home early.”

Yoongi looked over towards the window, smiled fondly at Hoseok. “I didn’t have to fight anyone today.” Hoseok grinned, crossed the room quickly to pull Yoongi into a hug. “Something’s on your mind.” Hoseok nodded once, but didn’t elaborate, face pressed into Yoongi’s neck. “What is it, darling?”

Hoseok sniffed quietly. “Um. Taeyong came to see you.” Yoongi sighed quietly and wrapped an arm around Hoseok’s waist. “He’s waiting in the office. He’s been here for, like, an hour.”

“Well, he can wait a few minutes longer.” Hoseok laughed quietly as Yoongi pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. “I missed you.” Hoseok hummed softly. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to spend time with you, darling.” Hoseok nodded slowly, kissed Yoongi again. “Tonight, darling, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He kissed Hoseok one more time, then pulled back just slightly. “I’ll even bleed you, if you want.” His thumb stroked down Hoseok’s neck, over the subtle ridges of the bite scar nestled at the base of his throat. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Without another word, he pulled away from Hoseok and made his way into his office. As soon as the door was shut behind him, he was pinned to the wall, a very angry sorcerer holding him in place. “Taeyong-”

“Don’t speak.” Taeyong’s fingers were gentle on Yoongi’s face, but his eyes said something completely different. “Did it not occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I would want to know that you had gone to see Hakyeon?” Yoongi didn’t say a word, staring at Taeyong with fear in his eyes. “Did it not occur to you that I would want to know just how much Hakyeon and Takuya love that precious little newborn?” Yoongi opened his mouth to speak, but Taeyong shook his head, silencing him. “What were you _thinking_?”

Yoongi growled, broke out of Taeyong’s grip and flitted to the other side of the room. “How was I supposed to know that you would have wanted to know? How was I supposed to know that you were going to go see them? I was handling business the way that I thought was best, I had to talk to Hakyeon.” Taeyong snarled at him, raised his hand, and Yoongi fell to the floor, hissing through his teeth. “And besides, they took my baby, I have every right to go back there. They would have killed me if I hadn’t done what I did, would you rather I be dead?”

“You know I wouldn’t.” Taeyong knelt beside him, reached out to take Yoongi’s hands. “I just wish you had told me. I could have helped you.” Yoongi didn’t say a word. “I could have helped you get your baby back, you know that. If you had just asked me, sweetheart, I would have gone with you.”

“I know.” Yoongi sat up straight, looking at Taeyong in silence for a long time. “I didn’t think you would want to know.”


	12. Chapter 12

The sorcerer chuckled quietly as he pulled away from Kibum, fingers trailing off of his shoulder. “You don’t like seeing those particular memories, do you? You didn’t like Takuya, or Seyoung, or Hakyeon, or any of them. Not even when you had your big, scary older brother to protect you from the big, scary vampires.” He took Kibum’s hand gently in one of his own, fingers stroking over the palm. “That’s why you got so good at this, at magic, wasn’t it? So you didn’t have to rely on Heechul for protection, so you could protect yourself, and Jonghyun. Am I right?”

“Why are you showing me this?” Kibum looked up at him, face neutral, sweat glistening on his forehead. “Why are you making me watch this?”

He laughed quietly. “Because,” He shifted in Kibum’s lap, so he could look him more directly in the eyes. “you need to get caught up on what exactly happened behind the scenes, when you weren’t around to listen in, when Heechul wasn’t around to see them. And,” he paused again, smiling fondly down at Kibum, eyes glistening in the dim light. “because, by the time I’m done showing you all of this, it will be far too late for you to help your friends.” A look must have flashed across Kibum’s face, because the sorcerer cackled quietly. “Oh, don’t you worry, pretty Kibum, you haven’t seen the worst of it, not yet.” Kibum groaned quietly, more from exhaustion than anything else. “How about you and I take a trip down memory lane?”

***

The next thing he knew, Kibum was hurtling through waves and waves of memories, faces and places and feelings flashing around him quicker than he could actually follow. It was all very confusing, but when his vision cleared, he realized he would rather have the confusion that this perfect, unaltered clarity.

The thing about Kibum’s magic was that it tended to be overwhelming. Not a day went by where his brain wasn’t partially absorbed with the thoughts and feelings of the people around him. It happened subconsciously, and he had little to no control over the actual process, but it had proved to be incredibly distracting when he wanted to sleep.

But now, now he couldn’t feel any of it. He was so incredibly focused on the scene in front of him, it was all he could think about, and he hated it.

He recognized the younger version of himself instantly – he hadn’t changed much since he was a teenager, had peaked early – and it wasn’t hard to recognize Heechul, either. He knew instantly what was going to happen, and he couldn’t look away, as much as he wanted to. He couldn’t hear anything, not until Heechul shouted. The words flooded through his brain, ripping open old wounds that Kibum had forgotten about long ago, _if you loved me, you’d help me with this._ He watched, tense with anticipation, as his younger self said something in return – he knew what it was, knew it even though he couldn’t hear it.

_If you actually gave a shit about Jonghyun and me, you wouldn’t be asking for our fucking help!_

That was what prompted Heechul to throw a punch. It was almost in slow motion, as Heechul moved, and then Kibum moved in response, throwing his hand out. He could almost see the flash of light, a split second before Heechul was thrown backwards. He landed on his back, looking surprised that Kibum had actually done anything.

Kibum didn’t spare him a second glance as he turned away and walked back towards their home.

As he watched himself retreat, he was ripped backwards, his head once again flooded with old memories that he would rather not resurface. When they cleared again, he was standing not far from where the last scene had taken place, though the Kibum he was faced with looked significantly younger. There were three others facing him and Kibum knew them instantly. He watched in mute horror as the boys went after younger-Kibum, winced as the scrawny, twelve-year-old version of himself threw out his hands, blasting the other three boys through the air. With that, he spun on his heel and ran.

This time, Kibum was yanked forward, until he was deposited in a memory that played through his head every time that he saw Heechul angry. In this one, they weren’t much older than they had been in the first memory; Heechul had only been gone for a few months before he’d come back, hair longer, gaze fiercer, gaze tinted red, whole body smelling like blood and death and ruin. Kibum had known instantly, of course, what he had done; he could feel it on his spirit, rolling off of Heechul in waves, thick and heavy. He hadn’t needed to say anything for Heechul to see the accusation in his eyes, feel it in his thoughts, as hidden as Kibum tried to keep them. Jonghyun hadn’t known, but, then again, Jonghyun hadn’t been all that aware of the vampire world, at the time.

Kibum flinched when he watched Heechul lunge across the room, colliding with Kibum and tackling him to the floor, fangs flashing in the light. He couldn’t hear any of what his younger self had to say about it, but the words were branded in his head anyways. _I hate you, you’re just like them, you fucking monster, I hate you, how could you do this to us, how could you do this to me, you promised you’d never abandon us, Heechul, I_ hate _you!_

He could pinpoint the exact moment that Heechul’s fangs broke skin, as young-Kibum’s eyes went wide, bright with fear, then fell shut, as he shoved desperately at Heechul’s chest. He knew, in about four seconds, that – yes, there it was, the flash of light as fire erupted in between them, forcing Heechul to reel backwards with a shriek of pain, and then flee, leaving Kibum alone on the floor, bleeding from his throat.

And then he was hurtling forward again, fury and fear and blood flashing around him.

Oh. He should have expected this.

“You must be Kibum.” Kibum looked up when he heard Hakyeon speak, fought to keep his face passive as he gazed at the vampire. He was pretty, far prettier than Kibum had expected – that said, the only other vampires he had ever met had been old, lost in a blood-haze, or Heechul himself. He had the same air about him that Heechul did, the same blood-red tint to his eyes, the same scent of blood floating in the air around him, the same darkness and fury in his spirit, clouding everything else around him. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

 _Funny. I was under the impression that my brother wanted to forget that I even existed_. He mouthed the words in time with his younger self, watched Hakyeon’s face closely as he laughed, the smile never reaching his eyes. As he made his way towards Kibum, two other people stepped in, and immediately, he could sense the change in atmosphere. When he had been younger, he hadn’t picked up on it, his brain too caught up with the threat that was Hakyeon to process the spike in tension in the room. “Oh, how rude of me. This is my other child, Takuya, and his child, Seyoung. Darlings, this is Kibum.”

Behind Hakyeon, he watched as Heechul shifted uncomfortably, almost as if he wanted to step forward and get in between Kibum and Hakyeon but didn’t dare move from his spot.

And now, watching it all again, seeing it from the outside, he could see the way that Takuya’s eyes followed the lines of his body, could see the glint in his eye as he met Heechul’s gaze. Heechul’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say a word, even when Takuya raised an eyebrow and looked back at Kibum, teeth dragging across his lower lip in a manner that could only have been sexual. Looking back at it now, Kibum wondered how he hadn’t caught up with Takuya’s intentions, because they were more than obvious. He wasn’t exactly discreet.

“Heechul tells me that you’ve got some magic in you.” This time, he heard the threat through Hakyeon’s false sincerity. “Would you show me?” Kibum hadn’t been aware of how much the hesitation showed on his face at the time. “Go on. I hear you’re good at burning vampires.”

 _That’s where Heechul got his scar_.

Hakyeon laughed again, then motioned Takuya forward. “Darling, would you be so kind-”

Takuya bristled. “You want me to- fuck _no_ , I’m not letting him lay his hands on me, are you insane?” Hakyeon had merely raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to die, thank you very much.”

Hakyeon grabbed him by the jaw, then, forcing his head back. “I wouldn’t let him kill you, darling. I just want to see what he can do.” Kibum watched as Hakyeon turned Takuya around, locking him into place with gentle hands. “Let him burn you. Just a little bit.”

Kibum remembered the shock he had felt when Seyoung had intervened. “He can burn me.” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow, then nodded once, pushed Takuya out of the way.

“Show me what you can do, little sorcerer.”

He watched as younger-Kibum wrapped his fingers around Seyoung’s forearm, half an inch from Hakyeon’s hand, watched as Seyoung arched backwards, screaming. It only lasted half a second before Kibum released him, stepped away from both of them. Hakyeon shushed Seyoung gently, turned him around to pull him against his chest. Kibum was only able to see the wounds he had left for a moment, but he would remember those scars forever. They weren’t big, he had only pushed the fire through his fingertips, but they would scar Seyoung for the rest of his life.

“Takuya, get him out of here. Let him cry.” Hakyeon very gently transferred Seyoung to Takuya’s arms, and they were gone within the next few seconds. Hakyeon turned his attention to Kibum, then, and pulled Heechul towards him by the wrist. “You’re so controlled.” Kibum nodded once. “But so _young_.” He stepped forward and Kibum stepped backwards, eyes flicking between Hakyeon and Heechul quickly.

“Hak _yeon_.”

“Heechul.”

“He’s scared.” Hakyeon cocked his head to the side in thought, then hummed softly. “Can I talk to him, alone? Please?” After a moment, Hakyeon nodded, then released Heechul and walked away, leaving them alone. Neither of them said anything for a long time, before Heechul spoke, his voice quiet. “I’m sorry that I bit you.”

_I’m sorry that I burned you. Twice._

“You were right, though. What I did was awful. I basically abandoned you and Jongh-” He cut off quickly, looked towards the door. “Did you bring him with you?” The confusion must have shown on Kibum’s face, because Heechul spoke again. “Oh gods.” He grabbed Kibum’s arm, and before Kibum knew what was happening, they were standing in the forest, facing the third part of their trio. “ _Jonghyun_.”

Before Jonghyun could say a word, Kibum had pulled him into a hug. _You can’t be here. You have to go, you need to go home._ Jonghyun looked ready to say something, but before he could, both he and young-Kibum vanished. With that, Kibum was launched forward again.

He lost track of how many more memories he was forced to watch. All he knew was that, by the end of it, all he could smell was blood, all he felt was fear and fury, all he could really process was danger.

“Wake up, pretty Kibum.”

His eyes flew open and he fought back a cry as everything that he had just seen rushed through his head one more time, faster than he could really follow. When his vision cleared, he was looking at the sorcerer, eyes wide. It wasn’t until he felt cold, delicate fingers on his face that he realized he was crying. “Hush, pretty Kibum. No one can hurt you here.” He snorted, and the sorcerer seemed to recognize the humor in what he had said, because he smiled too. “I think you know well enough by now that I don’t intend to hurt you.” Kibum was shaking, and after a moment, the sorcerer stood up, fingers dragging across his cheek for a brief second.

“I _hate_ you.”

“Oh, trust me, I know.” The sorcerer smiled at him. “I’ll leave you alone, shall I? Let you think about everything you just saw.” He started towards the door, paused only when Kibum spoke.

“Where’s Leeteuk?”

The sorcerer looked back at him for a moment, eyes glowing silver for a second. “He’s safe. Seyoung won’t hurt him unless Heechul or the hunters do anything stupid.” Kibum didn’t look like he believed him. “Would you like to see him?” That got Kibum’s attention, and after a moment, the sorcerer stepped forward, held out a delicate hand. Kibum took it wordlessly, a chill running down his spine as their palms met.

_He was curled into silk sheets, head resting on his arm. He was pale, paler than Kibum remembered, but he looked far more peaceful than he had ever seen the hunter. A second later, and his eyes were fluttering open. Kibum winced when he met Leeteuk’s blood-red gaze, and then he was ripped out of the vision._

“He’s safe where he is.”

Without another word, the sorcerer left the room, leaving Kibum alone.


	13. Chapter 13

“I’ve known you for, what, a hundred years, now?” Kibum spoke quietly from the doorway, his arms wrapped around his body. “I still don’t know your name.” He didn’t get an answer and after a moment, he stepped into the room, walked slowly towards the desk where the sorcerer was sitting. “I understand wanting to keep secrets, that secret in particular, but if you’re going to keep me locked up here, you might as well tell me.” He came a halt beside the sorcerer, arms falling to his sides. “You know everything there is to know about me. I know nothing about you.”

“How important is it to you?” Kibum cocked his head to the side in thought. “My name. How much does knowing it matter?”

Kibum exhaled quietly. “I don’t know if I want to answer that question.” The sorcerer smiled faintly, one eyebrow raised. “Because if I say that it matters a lot, you’ll think I’m trying to use it against you. If I tell you that it doesn’t matter, you’ll think I’m trying to reverse psychology my way into learning your name, to the end goal of using it against you.”

After a moment, the sorcerer turned to face him, the corners of his lips still turned into a gentle smile. “You’re so smart, pretty Kibum.” After a moment, he held out his hand and, after a few long seconds of hesitation, Kibum took his hand gently. The sorcerer’s smile widened, and he used his grip on Kibum to tug him closer. “It’s Taeil.” Kibum hummed quietly, then let out a quiet noise of distaste, as Taeil tugged him down into his lap. “You’ve heard that name before, haven’t you?”

“Your name isn’t exactly unknown, not in our community. Any sorcerer who’s ever read any of the Academy’s magic literature has seen it.” Dimly, he was aware of Taeil’s fingers creeping across his shoulder, towards his neck. “What is it that you want from me, exactly?”

“They ruined you.” Taeil’s fingers brushed over Kibum’s throat and a shiver ran down his spine. “They made you soft.” He cocked his head to the side in thought, examining Kibum’s face. “You could have been so powerful. You had so much potential. There were so many places that you could have gone, so many things you could have done, but they got to you first.”

“Who did?”

Taeil’s smile faded. “The vampires. And then the hunters, then the Academy and the Lady. And then it was the spirits, then the vampires again. And now, now the spirits have started to push back into your head.” His thumb brushed Kibum’s jaw gently. “They do like you, don’t they? They won’t leave you alone, won’t get out of your head. Pushing all of those memories onto you, things you don’t need to see, don’t want to see. Things that happened a century ago, things you couldn’t have changed if you’d tried.”

“Sounds familiar.”

Taeil snorted. “You needed to see everything that I showed you.” Kibum looked incredulous, very much aware of the fact that Taeil’s hand was resting gently against his neck. “You’ll understand it soon. I did what I did very intentionally. You need to understand.” He withdrew his fingers after a moment. “You never liked Hakyeon, did you?” Kibum shook his head once and Taeil laughed quietly. “He was a very charismatic individual. You saw right through him.” He paused for a moment. “That being said, you could see right into his head, couldn’t you? You could see everything that he was thinking, you knew what he thought about you and Jonghyun and Heechul.”

“I knew everything.” Kibum spoke quietly, not meeting Taeil’s gaze. “Even when I couldn’t hear his thoughts, I could feel.” He waved his fingers through the air gently. “Every single emotion, every shift in mood. It’s only when I’m distracted – like when I first met Hakyeon – that I don’t notice it. But usually, I can follow the flow of the mood very easily.” He looked at Taeil, then, eyebrows drawn together in frustration. “I can’t hear _you_. I didn’t notice that until now.” Taeil chuckled quietly. “I can feel your emotions, though. Not that it matters at the moment, your mood hasn’t changed since I got here.”

“Do you remember how frustrated Hakyeon was when he first found out that he couldn’t hear your thoughts?” Kibum nodded. “He wanted to kill you. Wanted to rip you apart, limb by limb, and burn the pieces. I volunteered to help him.” Kibum didn’t react. “That was before I met you. I didn’t know you then. I didn’t want to know you.”

“You were Hakyeon’s friend?”

“Something like that.” Taeil smiled. “He was my best friend. He helped out my family more than I could have asked of him.”

“You have a family?”

“Does that surprise you?”

Kibum paused in thought before he spoke, voice quiet. “Yes, actually.” He pursed his lips. “Some sorcerers have their families, as you know, their clans. Some don’t. Some want all the power to themselves. You seem like the latter type.” He cocked his head to the side in thought. “That being said, I was also surprised to find that Hakyeon had a family. You remind me of him.” Taeil raised an eyebrow. “Ridiculously, impossibly powerful. Egotistical. You say you have a family; if I had to bet, I’d say their more like whatever it was that Hakyeon had. A group of people who would do whatever he asked, without question.”

“You mean like what Seokjin has created.”

Kibum looked at him for a moment. “Yes, actually.” After a moment, he got to his feet. Taeil didn’t react, face perfectly passive. “It’s a power move. You have all the power, why not show it off with a few minions here and there?” All at once, something seemed to come to Kibum. “That’s why you saved Seyoung.” Taeil smiled. “You knew that you’d be able to use him in the future. You knew that if you gave him to Hakyeon, then he’d be made into what you wanted him to be. You knew that if you saved his life, you’d have your perfect little guard dog in the future. You knew that if you had him, you could hear everything that Hakyeon had planned. You already had a way into the hunters, but you needed to play both sides of the board at once, didn’t you?”

Taeil laughed quietly, then got to his feet. All at once, the tension in the room skyrocketed. It hit Kibum like a brick to the face, and he leaned backwards for half a second, before righting himself. Taeil stepped closer, and Kibum stepped backwards. They continued in that fashion until Taeil had backed Kibum into the window, cool glass pressing against his back. “You were never really Hakyeon’s friend. He thought he was manipulating you, but that’s exactly what you wanted him to think. You tricked him into doing everything that you wanted him to do, and he never had any idea what you were up to.”

“I think you’ll find, Kibum, that vampires can be remarkably oblivious to the world around them, especially, as you know very well, when you throw some blood into the mix.” Kibum stiffened when Taeil placed a hand on the center of his chest, pressing his fingers right into the scars hidden under his shirt. “Who gave you this one?” Kibum’s jaw clenched and he didn’t answer. “Was it Jiwon? Hanbin?”

“It was Takuya.” Kibum’s voice was quiet and he shuddered as Taeil’s fingers dragged across the scar before he pulled back.

“Mm, I forgot about him. I forgot about that part of your life.” Kibum didn’t relax until Taeil had backed away from him. “How much do you think it would take to break Youngbae?” Kibum straightened and Taeil smiled. “Would you like to find out?”

Kibum’s eyes narrowed and Taeil laughed quietly, a split second before he was thrown backwards. Kibum pushed off of the wall and stalked forward, hands tightening into fists. As his fingernails bit into his palms, Taeil was launched back into the wall. He it hard, head snapping back against the wall.

He let Kibum throw him around a few more times before he finally retaliated. Kibum didn’t see it coming; Taeil gave no indication that he was going to do anything, but before Kibum knew what was happening, he was pinned to the floor, a very passive looking Taeil standing over him. “What a pity.” Half a second later, Taeil looked away when he heard the door open.

“Can you keep it down? You’re scaring the baby.” There was a long pause and Kibum heard the newcomer cross the room. His nostrils flared when the person came into view, but he couldn’t say anything. “If you keep this up much longer, he’s going to come in here, and I don’t think you want him seeing Kibum like this. Imagine what that would do to your plan.” Taeil nodded once, then the vampire looked down at Kibum. “Hey there, pretty hunter.” Kibum growled and Yoongi chuckled quietly. “I have to go.”

“Have you fed him recently?”

“Of course I have. I’m not stupid, I know how to take care of newborns.”

“Do you?” Yoongi’s jaw clenched. “Because that last one, he didn’t turn out too well, did he?”

Yoongi snarled. “That wasn’t my fault and you know it. Hakyeon took him from me, he ruined him. He hurt my baby, he destroyed him.” Taeil smiled, and it was obvious that he wasn’t exactly paying attention. “We can finish this conversation later.” Without another word, he spun on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

Taeil looked down at Kibum. “Sorry, where were we?”

“Last thing you said to me was ‘what a pity.’” Taeil laughed quietly, then knelt down beside Kibum. “What exactly did you mean by that?” Taeil didn’t say anything. “What does the other sorcerer – Taeyong – have to do with any of this? Why do you keep showing me parts of his past?”

“You do have a lot of questions, don’t you?” Kibum’s lips quirked up into a smile and after a moment, he felt Taeil’s magic release him. “Taeyong was my first student.” Kibum pushed himself up so he could sit eye-to-eye with Taeil. “Goodness, that was forever ago. I met Taeyong long before you were born.” Kibum opened his mouth to ask a question, but Taeil must have seen it coming, because he answered it before Kibum had a chance to ask. “I haven’t seen him in, oh, about fifty years. He wanted his freedom.” He paused. “You’d like him.” Kibum snorted quietly. “You two are very similar. You’d get along.”

“If he’s anything like you, I sincerely doubt that.”

“You wound me.” His voice was flat, emotionless, and Kibum chuckled quietly. “Taeyong has moments, where he is like me. But he’s more like you most of the time.”

They were silent, and in that silence, Kibum finally got a glimpse into Taeil’s thoughts. It was fleeting, almost too fast for him to be sure it was real, but it was definitely there. “I want to see Leeteuk.”

“Absolutely not.” Taeil stood up and walked away, leaving Kibum on the floor for a few seconds before he, too, rose to his feet. “That would be far too dangerous. He’s so incredibly volatile at the moment, can’t keep a handle on his bloodlust. I wouldn’t want you anywhere near that.”

“How noble of you.” Kibum walked towards Taeil slowly, careful not to agitate the elder sorcerer. “He’s my best friend. Let me see him.” Taeil didn’t say anything as Kibum came to stand beside him. “You know I’ll go looking for him if you don’t let me see him.”

After a moment, Taeil sighed and turned to face Kibum. “Be patient. Be patient and I’ll let you see him.” Kibum nodded once and Taeil smiled, touched gentle fingers to Kibum’s face. “Go to bed. You look like you need it.”

***

“You will not keep me away from him.” Heechul made to move forward again, but Ryeowook pulled him back again, grip tightening on his elbow. “Let go of me, Ryeowook, or I swear to every god that can hear me, I will kill you.”

“You won’t. All of our brothers would kill _you_ if you did that. And if you lay a finger on any of us, the hunters will destroy you and everything that you stand for, and where would that leave Leeteuk?” Heechul snarled, right in Ryeowook’s face, fangs flashing. “Heechul, you know that we will get him out of there. You know that he is going to be okay, if we have any say in it. We will do everything that we can to get him home safely and get him back to normal. You _know_ that, you know that the hunters love you, you know that we want him to be safe.”

“He’s _my_ mate, let me go with you!”

“You know a lot of things, Heechul, and you know exactly why we can’t bring you with us. We have to do this carefully, you know who we’re dealing with, and you know that if we don’t do this with extreme delicacy, then your mate is going to end up paying the price for it.” Heechul tried to rip out of Ryeowook’s grip again, but Ryeowook was stronger than he remembered. “Please trust me, Heechul. Please trust that we will get your mate out of there safe, that we will bring him back to you.”

“Why are you so afraid of bringing me with?”

“Because I know that you’re angry and I know how you get when you’re angry! If we let you come with, you’re going to do more harm than good. I know you love him, I know you want him back, I’ve heard you crying, I’ve seen your nightmares.”

After a moment, Heechul sighed. Ryeowook released him after a moment and stepped away. “Bring him home to me.” Ryeowook nodded slowly. “Please. I have to tell him that I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Ryeowook started towards the door, paused when he heard Jongin enter the room. “Is something wrong, Jongin?” He turned to look at Jongin, who looked conflicted. “We need to go. The hunters will be here soon.” Jongin nodded once, then opened his mouth to speak.

“I…I…Ryeowook, you know I want to help.” Ryeowook nodded once, eyebrows drawing together in concern. “But- I. Um. I don’t- I don’t want to be around Seyoung. I can’t be around Seyoung.”

Ryeowook nodded. “I understand.” He looked at Heechul for a second. “Take care of Heechul for me.” 

“I will.”

Ryeowook left the room, then, and found a small group of both hunters and vampires waiting for him outside. “We need to go.” Without making eye contact with any of them, he walked past the group, and started down the street, not looking back to see if they were following.

***

“Heechul?”

“Jongin.” Heechul straightened and turned to look at his brother. “Go away.” Jongin shook his head, stubborn, as always. “We aren’t doing this right now.”

“Then when are we going to do it, Heechul?” His voice was soft, but there was an edge to it that Heechul had never heard before. “It’s been six months. Every time I tried to talk to you, you told me the same thing: ‘we’ll do this later.’” His words seemed to be falling on deaf ears. “I’m done waiting for you to decide when we’re going to have this conversation. We are having it now. Now, before your mate comes back, before we have to deal with whatever Seyoung’s going to send our way. Now, while we have the time, while we have the privacy, we are going to have this conversation, we are going to talk about this.”

Jongin stepped forward and Heechul growled quietly. “Get out.”

“No.”

“Jongin-”

“You’ve spent ten years pushing me away, I’m not going to let you do it again.” By now, Jongin was standing face to face with Heechul. “You’re my brother and I love you and I’m not going to let you keep doing this to yourself. Let me _help_ you, Heechul.”

“Maybe I don’t want your help, Jongin!”

Jongin didn’t say anything for a long time, dark eyes locked on Heechul’s. “Maybe you don’t. Maybe you don’t want to hear what I have to say.” He paused, a strange look in his eyes. “But you certainly need it.” Heechul snarled, bristling, and watched as Jongin’s fangs slid free. “You can’t keep sulking like this, it’s going to kill you. I know you love him, we all do. No one would ever question that. But Heechul, at some point, you have to get back to your life. I’m not saying get over it, but your family needs you, too. We have needed you for the past six months, and you haven’t been there for us. Do you understand that _I_ have been running this fucking territory since you had your first breakdown, that _I_ have been the one dealing with the hunters, the rogues, the sorcerers, the feeders, the hunter Council, the Blood Council, all of it? Ryeowook doesn’t want the responsibility, Joonmyun is helping Yifan and Zitao hunt for the sorcerer that put the curse on Zitao, Minseok is dealing with the hunters and their drama, Jongdae is Jongdae, and Kibum and Jonghyun aren’t vampires, which left me in charge of all of this, all of this that isn’t mine to be in charge of! This is your territory, it’s not mine, it could never be mine, because I don’t want this, I don’t want to be the one controlling everything, the one responsible for everything, but you’ve left me no fucking choice, because you’re so absorbed in what happened to Leeteuk that you can’t see that the rest of us are falling apart around you!”

He fell silent, breathing heavily, fangs fully extended, eyes glowing red dimly. After a moment of merely gazing at Heechul, he spoke, his voice quiet. “I love you. You know that. We all love you, more than anything. You’re our brother.” Heechul exhaled shakily and that was when Jongin noticed that his hands were trembling. “But we can’t let you keep doing this to yourself. You have a responsibility to this world, to this family, and I’m not going to let my family suffer because you’re too afraid to fulfill that responsibility. I’m not going to let my brothers suffer for something that we can fix.”

Heechul didn’t speak. He merely gazed at Jongin for a long moment, before turning away from him. Jongin sighed quietly, then stepped backwards, kept going until he was standing at the door. “I’m going to see Kyungsoo. I’ll be back by sunrise.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Seyoung looked up at Taeil, one eyebrow raised, his fingers falling still in Jungsoo’s hair until the vampire whined quietly, prompting him to resume his gentle scratching. “You’re going to give me both anyway, what does it matter?” Taeil gave him a look of complete boredom, before Seyoung spoke again. “I’m assuming that the bad news is that there’s a certain group of hunters that’s finally on their way to collect what they think belongs to them, and that they’ve got pretty vampires coming with them.” Taeil smiled. “What’s the good news, then?”

“We can hide you two, throw them off the trail for long enough that you can finish what you’ve started.”

“No.” Taeil’s eyebrows rose and his eyes flashed dangerously as he gazed at Seyoung. “Let them come. Let them see what I’ve done, let them see what they’ve done. Let them see what happens when they fuck with me. Let them see what they created in their failure.” Taeil didn’t look at all convinced. He watched patiently as Jungsoo rolled onto his side, face pressed gently into Seyoung’s thigh, Seyoung’s fingers still in his hair.

“You like him.” The accusation in Taeil’s voice was barely audible, but it was there. “You _love_ him.” Seyoung looked up quickly, eyes flashing, but it was too late. “You’ve gone soft, for him, just like Takuya did for you, just like Heechul did for Minseok, just like Jackson did for all of his kids.” Seyoung shook his head once. “Don’t lie to me, I can see it in your head. You love him so much, you’d never hurt him, you’d never do anything to put him in harm’s way.” Seyoung growled weakly, which prompted a soft noise of protest from Jungsoo. Seyoung stilled and Taeil spoke again. “You’re no better than they were.”

He turned to leave, then froze when he saw Kibum standing in the doorway. “Didn’t I tell you to go to bed?”

“You did.” Kibum stepped into the room slowly, eyes never leaving Taeil. “Doesn’t mean that I listened.” He made his way forward, only coming to a halt when Taeil grabbed him by the elbow and held him still. “That’s not- is that him?” That seemed to get Jungsoo’s attention. He turned again, so he could crane his neck to see Kibum from around Taeil. “Is that Leeteuk?” He didn’t get an answer, but he didn’t exactly need one. He wasn’t blind. “What, in the name of every god that I’ve ever known, have you done to him?” Taeil didn’t offer up any answers to his question. “What did you _do_?”

It was Seyoung who answered, fingers resting gently on Jungsoo’s jaw. “I did for him what you people never could have.” Very gently, he maneuvered Jungsoo into a seated position and pulled him into his lap. “I loved him when you all didn’t, I gave him what he wanted, but most importantly, Kibum, I gave him the one thing that Heechul never did: the truth.”

Kibum nodded slowly, watched with nothing but pain in his eyes as Jungsoo wrapped his arms around Seyoung’s neck and clung to him. After a moment, he pulled out of Taeil’s grip and turned to leave, pausing only when he heard Jungsoo speak, voice quiet. “Kibum?” He turned to look at him for a long moment. “Is…are the hunters okay?”

Kibum held still for a moment. “I…yeah. Yeah, they’re okay.” He swallowed hard, a lump in his throat. “We miss you.” Jungsoo didn’t respond to that. Kibum sighed quietly, then turned and left the room.

***

When Jongin opened his eyes, he was trapped underneath Kyungsoo, their fingers twisted together tightly. Jongin tried to turn in Kyungsoo’s grip but found that he was quite unable to move. Kyungsoo’s grip on him was tight and his face was tucked into Jongin’s neck. Jongin could feel the bumps of his fangs hidden underneath his lips. “Kyungsoo, sweetie, are you hungry?” He got a soft hum in response and smiled. “Get up, baby, we’ll go hunting.”

Kyungsoo whined when Jongin tried to move again, his grip tightening. “Don’t wanna.” He rolled his hips once and Jongin chuckled. “Wanna cuddle.”

“I know, baby.” Jongin pressed a kiss to Kyungsoo’s cheek. “Up you get, darling. Let’s get you fed.”

“ _No_.” Kyungsoo whined quietly, squirming. “I don’t _wanna_ get up, I wanna stay here and cuddle with you. I wanna snuggle.” His grip tightened further, if it was possible, and Jongin made a soft noise of protest. “I don’t need to feed, I’m not _that_ hungry. We can stay here and cuddle.”

“No, baby, we can’t.” Kyungsoo whined again and Jongin chuckled. “We have things to do tonight, sweetie. The hunters need your help and I need to go run some errands for Heechul. We can cuddle later, I promise, but we need to go feed before we can do anything else today.” He could tell that Kyungsoo was pouting. “C’mon. Up.” With gentle hands, he pushed Kyungsoo up and extracted himself from the newborn’s grip. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You know I’m right.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, then nodded once, rather begrudgingly. “Let’s go.” He climbed out of bed and took Kyungsoo’s hand, pulled him into a hug. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too. You’re so stupid.”

Jongin laughed quietly, then tugged Kyungsoo towards the door. “You’re such a snarky little shit.”

“That’s why you love me.”

“You’re right.” Jongin pressed a kiss to Kyungsoo’s head. “That’s the only reason.” Kyungsoo smiled, then ducked out of Jongin’s grip, took off running down the hallway. Jongin rolled his eyes, then followed after him. He was faster than Kyungsoo, he knew that, but he let him think that he had gotten away for about two minutes before he caught him, an arm wrapped around his waist. “You’re so cute.”

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe later, baby. Right now, you need to feed.” Kyungsoo shoved at Jongin’s chest, broke out of his grip once more, but didn’t run. “C’mon. I’m sure there’s some frat boys that you could go terrorize.” Kyungsoo hit him gently and Jongin chuckled. “Go on.”

Kyungsoo stilled, biting at his lower lip. “What if I-”

Jongin pulled him into another hug. “You won’t. You’ve got so much control, baby, you aren’t going to kill anyone. We’ve been doing this for six months, you’ve never once hurt anyone beyond what’s necessary for you to live. They won’t remember it. You’ll be okay.”

“You sure?”

“Of course, baby.”

After a moment, Kyungsoo nodded, then flitted off into the city, leaving Jongin alone. He turned, then, jaw clenched. “What are you doing here?” He didn’t get a response. “This isn’t your city. We’ve had enough problems with vampires, we don’t need your drama-inducing tendencies here.” Still no response. He growled quietly, before speaking again. “You’re working with Seyoung, aren’t you? That’s what this is about.”

“Smart boy.” Jongin bristled as the man in front of him stepped forward. “You’re always so smart, aren’t you, such a smart little baby vampire.” Jongin bared his teeth and the man chuckled quietly. “I don’t know if sending your pretty little boyfriend off by himself was the best decision you could have made. He might need you.” Jongin growled again. “Oh, I’m so scared. You’re so scary, baby vampire.”

“If you keep calling me that, Jiwon, I’m going to hit you.”

“Try it, baby vampire.”

Jiwon moved forward, came towards Jongin faster than he had expected, and he would have gotten to him, too, if Kyungsoo hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, stepped right in between them, fangs bared, a ferocious snarl in his throat. Jiwon stepped away from him quickly, hands raised in surrender. “Oh, little newborn’s got _teeth_.” Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo quickly and pulled him back to his side, right against his body. “Should I stop teasing and get to the point?” Jongin snarled and Jiwon laughed. “You’re so rude.”

“With _fantastic_ reason. I know who you work for, I know what you stand for. And you know for a fact that I don’t trust you.”

Jiwon smiled at him. “You’re so smart, aren’t you? Is that why Takuya loved you so much, for your brain?” He paused, flashed a little smirk at Jongin. “Or was it for your body?”

“Jiwon, I swear-”

Kyungsoo lunged forward again and shoved Jiwon across the street and into the side of a building. Jongin growled quietly, moved to try and grab Kyungsoo, but the newborn flitted away faster than he had expected. “Kyungsoo-”

“Jongin.”

He froze and looked up slowly, exhaling in one long breath. “ _Yoongi_.” His gaze found the vampire quickly, eyes locking onto his arms, which were wrapped around Kyungsoo gently. “Let him go.” Yoongi chuckled quietly, rolled his eyes, and Jongin’s jaw clenched. “Please. Let him go.” Yoongi didn’t move. “Yoongi, your fight isn’t with him. Seyoung’s fight isn’t with him. He’s just a baby, let him go.” After a moment, Yoongi relented. Kyungsso flitted to Kyungsoo’s side and Jongin grabbed him by the elbow, pulled him close. “Go home. Tell the hunters.” Kyungsoo whined. “No, baby. Go. I’ll be okay.” Finally, Kyungsoo nodded and then vanished into the shadows. Jongin turned to Yoongi and Jiwon, then, exhaled quietly. “What do you want?”

Jiwon moved to stand beside Yoongi, waited patiently as Yoongi spoke. “Seyoung sent us. He wanted us to find someone in this territory. Someone very special.”

“Who?”

Yoongi smiled. “You remember those pretty little hunter ladies that your friend Zitao managed to find?” Jongin nodded once. “They’ve got a lovely little friend. Her name’s Roseanne. Sorceress. Very pretty, super cryptic, doesn’t like talking to vampires. Only ever speaks to hunters, really. Know her?”

“Not by name.” He cocked his head to the side in thought. “You should ask Kibum. He would know.” An odd glint appeared in Yoongi’s eyes, a look that Jongin didn’t like at all. “Isn’t that why he was taken, so Seyoung could get all of our secrets? He knows everything about the hunters, because he can read all of our minds. Anything you want to know, he’s the guy you should be asking.”

Jiwon leaned closer to Yoongi and hissed quietly in his ear, but not quietly enough that Jongin could hear him. Yoongi pulled away after a few seconds, a rather stormy look on his face. “Jiwon, go home. Jongin,” he paused as he looked at the vampire in front of him. “I see you still haven’t lost your claws. I see that you still believe that you can fight your way out of every situation.” He walked closer to Jongin slowly, fangs flashing in the light. “I think you’ll find that you can’t.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I would never.” The words slid smoothly off of Yoongi’s tongue as he came towards Jongin. “It is, however, a warning. I want you to be very, _very_ aware of what you’re dealing with here. This isn’t like the fight we have last time. This isn’t a fight that you can win purely by being stronger than your opponents. This isn’t a fight that you are going to get out of alive if you keep believing that your fangs alone will save you. This is a fight that you will lose if you aren’t very careful, pretty Jongin.”

“Where’s Kibum?”

“Safe.” Yoongi came to a halt, predatory gaze locked on Jongin. “Far safer than he was with the hunters. As is Leeteuk. They’re both perfectly healthy and perfectly safe. You don’t need to worry, not about them.” He paused. “Although I would be worried about the hunters and the vampires that you sent to rescue them. That was awfully stupid, on your part.”

“It wasn’t my idea.”

“Oh, believe me, I know. We’re all very much aware of that.” Yoongi touched a gentle hand to Jongin’s jaw. “You did let them go without much of a fight, though. I would go so far as to say that you encouraged them.” Yoongi drew away and Jongin growled quietly, watched as the elder vampire made his way down the street, before vanishing into shadows.


	15. Chapter 15

Luhan was about halfway home before he sensed the vampire behind him. He stilled, nostrils flaring as he inhaled slowly, trying to steady his heart. His hand fell to his stake slowly as he turned, eyes intent on finding the vampire.

It didn’t make it hard for him. The vampire was standing not twenty feet away, gazing passively at Luhan. It didn’t seem aggressive, but neither had Hakyeon, most of the time. Luhan’s eyes shifted, then, to the person standing beside the vampire. He wasn’t a vampire, that much was obvious in the way that he held himself, but neither was he a hunter. The pair came forward slowly, almost as if they didn’t want to frighten Luhan, but, at the same time, every line of their bodies was predatory.

When they came to a halt, they stood in silence for a few long seconds, merely gazing at Luhan calmly. The human was the one that broke the silence, voice quiet in the darkness. “You must be Luhan.”

“I am. I suppose that makes you the one that’s taken my hunters.”

The human chuckled quietly, a small smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth. “Maybe.” His gaze didn’t move away from Luhan, eyes glimmering even in complete darkness. “Although the pretty one seemed very willing to go along when Seyoung found him.” He paused. “Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that he had been left all alone for so long, completely starved, with no one to take care of him.”

“Maybe that has something to do with the fact that he was _dead_ when we found him. But you know all about that, don’t you?” The human laughed again, teeth dragging across his lower lip. “You think I don’t know who you are?”

“I would be surprised if you didn’t, Luhan. I haven’t exactly been living under a rock for the past hundred years.” Luhan nodded once as the man continued. “You’re right, you know. He was dead. Well, mostly dead. Had Seyoung and I reached him a second later, he would be dead – well, more permanently dead than he is now. But he’s a fighter, that one. Of course, you know that. You know all about that.” Luhan nodded again. “Oh, silly me, you must be wondering how your friends are.” He chuckled, smile widening. “They’re both intact, don’t worry. I’m taking very good care of them.”

“What exactly do you want from them?”

The human cocked his head to the side in thought, then stepped forward, leaving the vampire behind him. “I bet you’d love to know that,” He came to a halt in front of Luhan, smiling sweetly at him. “wouldn’t you?”

“Tell me what you’re doing with my hunters.”

“Oh, you’re precious.” The human took a moment to continue, biting back a smile. “You still think they’re yours.” Luhan’s shock must have shown on his face, because the human laughed again. “Leeteuk certainly doesn’t answer to you. He’s completely bent to Seyoung’s will.” He glanced back at the vampire behind him. “Perhaps it’s a good thing that Heechul’s not going on their little suicide mission. Imagine how upset he’d be if he saw Leeteuk all tangled up in Seyoung’s little web.” Luhan looked ready to comment, but the human cut him off quickly. “And _Kibum_ , yes, let’s talk about him. I’m not really sure where exactly his loyalties lie, but it certainly isn’t with you. He knows too much for his loyalties to still be with you.”

“What is that supposed to mean? What does he know?”

The human cackled and stepped backwards. “He doesn’t know everything, not yet. I haven’t had the time to show him everything.” He slipped his fingers around the vampire’s wrist, grip tight enough that the vampire winced. “But by the time you see him again, he’ll know everything that he needs to know about the hunters, about you, and about your past little adventures with the Council.” Luhan stepped forward, pulling his stake free, but before he could do anything, the pair disappeared in a flash of light.

“Oh, do you really want to do that?” Luhan whipped around, found that both the human and the vampire had reappeared behind him. “I’ll let Kibum know that you say hello, shall I? And perhaps I’ll also pass the greeting along to Leeteuk.”

Without another word, he vanished into a column of smoke, dragging the vampire with him.

Luhan growled in frustration. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number quickly, before raising it to his ear. “Minho.” He didn’t wait for a response before he spoke again. “Send a second patrol after the others. I don’t give a shit who’s on it, but don’t you dare let Heechul go with them – don’t interrupt me. Send two hunters and two vampires to my house, as well; I’ll meet them there.” He didn’t wait for Minho to respond before he hung up. He pushed open his front door and walked inside, set his phone on the table. 

“Minseok?”

“Right here.” Luhan smiled when he spotted the vampire coming down the stairs slowly. “Something happened. What was it?”

“I ran into the person who took Kibum, the one who played a hand in Leeteuk’s turning.” Minseok nodded once. “He’s a sorcerer. A powerful one. More powerful than Kibum.”

“I’m assuming that’s how he was able to bring Leeteuk back.” Luhan nodded and pulled Minseok into a hug when he got close enough. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.” Luhan hummed softly, turned his face into Minseok’s neck. “Something else happened.”

“He- we were talking about the whole thing that the others went on. He called it a suicide mission. You can see where I got concerned, but he also…also talked about Leeteuk, a little bit.” Minseok pulled back, just far enough that Luhan could press a kiss to his mouth. “He said something about how Leeteuk’s bent to Seyoung’s will. I think we were right about them turning Leeteuk against us.”

Minseok opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by a knock on the door. Luhan pulled away and walked towards the door, tugged it open to reveal four people standing outside. Not far behind them, he could see Seokjin and Namjoon coming up the front walkway. “I’m assuming that Minho’s gotten you caught up on the situation.”

Kangin nodded first. “He has. What do you need from us?”

“We’ve sent a second patrol to follow the first, but I want you four to go with Seokjin and Namjoon and go in through the back.”

Kyuhyun frowned. “We’re not going to take them by surprise, if that’s what you’re hoping-”

“No. I want to spread their resources as thinly as possible. I want as many of our people there as possible. We need to get Leeteuk and Kibum out.” Kyuhyun nodded his agreement. “I’m going to do everything I can about meeting with both the Council and the sorcerer who’s responsible for all of this.”

***

“They’re coming after you.” Seyoung murmured the words from where he stood near the window, before he turned back to the bed. “Coming after their precious Leeteuk. And Kibum, too, of course, but you were the first one they wanted to come after.” He crawled onto the bed, laid down right beside Jungsoo. “How are you, baby bunny?”

“Are they gonna take me away from you?”

Seyoung pressed a kiss to his forehead. “No. They’ll never take you away from me.” Jungsoo hummed and burrowed closer to Seyoung. “I’d kill them if they tried, you know that. They won’t touch you.”

“Is Heechul coming?” He didn’t mask his concern very well, if he was trying at all.

“No.” Seyoung smiled when Jungsoo made a quiet noise of confusion. “You’re so cute. Can I kiss you?”

“Mhm.” Seyoung smiled, before he pressed a gentle kiss to Jungsoo’s mouth, teeth dragging over his lower lip. “Will you- can we-” He cut off when Seyoung kissed him again, sucked gently on his lower lip. “You’re gonna make me ask?”

“I am.” Jungsoo whined again, mouth gentle on Seyoung’s jaw as he squirmed. “Oh, bunny, you’re so adorable, you know that, but how am I supposed to know what you want if you don’t ask?” Jungsoo whimpered, fangs sliding free as he nipped at Seyoung’s neck. “Pretty bunny, you’re such a sweet little newborn, aren’t you?”

“You’re so mean.” Seyoung chuckled quietly, rolled so he could press Jungsoo down into the mattress. “You’re _so_ mean to me.” Seyoung laughed again, tugged Jungsoo’s shirt over his head before he leaned down to kiss his neck gently. “Seyoung, _please_. It’s embarrassing.”

“You’re precious.” Jungsoo hit him lightly in the chest. “Perhaps I should be nice to you. Perhaps you deserve it.” All he got in response was a quiet whine, Jungsoo’s hands falling to his waist. “Am I really that mean to you?” Jungsoo didn’t respond, fingers busy on the button of Seyoung’s pants. “Such an eager bunny.”

“Please can we? Like we did last time?” Seyoung chuckled as he pressed another gentle kiss to Jungsoo’s mouth. “Please touch me.”

“I’m touching you already, baby bunny.” Jungsoo whined quietly as Seyoung’s hands slid down his stomach, over his hips, pinning him down to the mattress. “Where do you want me to touch you? Tell me, my sweet bunny.”

“You said you’d be _nice_.” Seyoung laughed quietly and Jungsoo’s fingers slid into his hair, tugging Seyoung’s head down to kiss him. “That’s not _nice_ , Seyoung, please don’t make me-”

“Shh, hush, baby, you’re okay, it’s okay. I won’t make you ask.” He rolled, pulled Jungsoo on top of him. “Don’t cry, bunny. I’ll be nice. I’ll touch you.” He slipped his fingers into the waistband of Jungsoo’s pants, kissing him gently as Jungsoo rolled his hips. “Oh, you’re so sweet, my darling love.” Seyoung anchored a hand in Jungsoo’s hair, murmured something else under his breath, but Jungsoo didn’t quite catch it.

Seyoung swore loudly when someone knocked on the door. He pushed himself up into a seated position, just in time to watch Taeil enter the room. Jiwon was right behind him and Seyoung tried very hard not to respond to the look that Jiwon sent towards Jungsoo. “I was-”

“Busy, I know. I wouldn’t have interrupted if it weren’t important.” He perched on the edge of the bed, chewing on his lower lip for a few minutes before he spoke again. “It’s about those hunters and vampires that are coming to visit. I don’t want you two to be in the room when they come in. Not right away, at least.” Seyoung opened his mouth to argue, but Taeil cut him off. “I don’t care what you have to say about it. The fewer opportunities they have to snatch him away from you, the better. Trust me?”

“I do trust you, you know I do. I just-”

“I _know_ you want to gloat, darling. And you’ll get your chance, I promise, but I also need you to be patient. Can you do that for me, please?”

Seyoung nodded. “Yeah. Yes. I can do that.” He leaned backwards against the pillows, eyebrows drawing together. “Where’s Kibum?”

“In the office. He’s busy.” Taeil reached out to take Seyoung’s hand gently. “How are you, darling?” Seyoung shrugged and Jungsoo pressed his face into his neck. “And Jungsoo, sweetheart, how are you?”

“I’m hungry.” Taeil chuckled quietly and Seyoung’s grip on his waist tightened. “Tell Kibum I love him.”

“I will.” Taeil rose to his feet, walked back to Jiwon. They slipped out of the room without another word, leaving Seyoung and Jungsoo alone once again.

Seyoung smiled rather fondly at Jungsoo, before he slipped a hand in between their bodies. “Where were we?” Jungsoo giggled quietly, pressed a line of kisses down Seyoung’s jaw. “Oh, right. I was being nice to you.” He pressed his mouth to Jungsoo’s gently, hands sliding around his waist. “Alright. I’ll give you what you want.”


	16. Chapter 16

“They’re coming here.” Taeil nodded once when he heard Kibum speak, but didn’t turn, even when he heard the other sorcerer come towards him. “They want you dead, for what you did. They want to kill you for taking Leeteuk and me.” Taeil hummed quietly in agreement, before he turned to face Kibum. “You’re not afraid of them, are you?” He didn’t get a response to that. “You know that they’re not powerful enough to kill you. They might get Seyoung and Yoongi and Jiwon, sure, but they won’t get you, and that’s what matters. As long as you survive-”

“So long as I survive, I continue to win.” Taeil murmured quietly, watched silently as Kibum’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “As long as I’m alive, I can create more people like Seyoung or Yoongi or Jiwon, I can find more people like me, and I can keep taking hunters. I can keep making their lives difficult, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He exhaled quietly and walked towards his desk, sat down in the chair. “You know me well enough to know that I’m not going to stop until I win.”

“And what exactly does winning entail?”

Taeil laughed quietly, looked up at Kibum. “Oh, you’d love to know that, wouldn’t you?” He laughed again, then turned away from Kibum, fingers tapping gently on the arm of his chair. “Don’t think that I haven’t felt you reaching out with your mind, don’t think I don’t know exactly what you’re up to. I’m not stupid, pretty sorcerer, I’ve been doing magic for a lot longer than you’ve been alive. Don’t try to _play_ me, Kibum; it’s only going to backfire on you. It only ever has, you know that, you’ve tried in the past and you know exactly how it ends.”

There was a long silence, before Kibum moved. He came forward, and put a hand on Taeil’s shoulder, before he spoke quietly. “You’re going to hurt them, aren’t you? You’re going to hurt my family.”

“I’m going to do what I have to do to protect my family.” Kibum inhaled quietly, fingers curling loosely. “Your family will be perfectly fine if they don’t try to hurt anyone that I care about. If they leave my family alone, then I won’t touch them.” He paused, a small smile on his face. “But if they lay a finger on my family, on the people that I love, then I’m going to destroy them.” Kibum sniffed delicately and Taeil could feel the tears that were threatening to fall. He turned, and in one swift motion, pulled Kibum down into his lap. “You know that I won’t hurt them if I don’t have to. I will do everything I can to not hurt them. But I have to protect my family.”

They both looked up when someone knocked on the door. Taeil sighed quietly as Kibum got to his feet. “Come in.” Whoever it was pushed the door open, and as soon as they stepped inside, Taeil was on his feet, crossing the room quickly. “You came _home_.” He sounded like he was on the verge of tears as he threw his arms around the newcomer, pulled him tight against his chest. “You’re _okay_.” The newcomer was smiling fondly, chin resting on Taeil’s shoulder. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”

“I didn’t think I was for a long time.” He murmured the words against Taeil’s neck. “It was yesterday that I decided I was coming home.” His fingers had curled loosely around Taeil’s waist. “Who’s your friend?”

Taeil laughed quietly when he pulled back, looked at Kibum. “This is Kibum. You remember him, he’s Heechul’s little brother.” Kibum gave the newcomer a tightlipped smile. “Kibum, this is Taeyong. But you already knew that.” Kibum nodded once, stayed silent as Taeil drew away from Taeyong and came towards him. “Keep an eye on your friends, would you? We wouldn’t want them to do anything too stupid before they get here; I do want to have a little chat with them.” Kibum nodded once and Taeil smiled. “We can finish our conversation later tonight.” Without another word, he pulled away. He grabbed Taeyong’s wrist on the way out, pulled him from the room, leaving Kibum alone.

***

Kibum looked up when he heard the door open, found Taeyong standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. “Where’s Taeil?” Taeyong smiled but elected not to answer the question. He walked into the room, came to a halt not five feet from Kibum. “I don’t need to tell you that I don’t want to talk to you. You know it better than anyone.” Taeyong chuckled quietly, but kept silent. “Leave me _alone_ , Taeyong.”

He moved to push past Taeyong, but the elder sorcerer grabbed him by the elbow. Kibum stilled, nostrils flaring as he exhaled. He didn’t look at Taeyong, even when the elder leaned in to speak quietly in his ear. “Did you miss me, pretty Kibum?” Kibum shook his head, stubborn, and Taeyong laughed. “I see you haven’t changed since we last met. Still just as stubborn as always.” He smiled sweetly, but Kibum could see the dangerous glint in his eyes. “Are you still as noisy as you used to be?” Kibum growled and Taeyong laughed quietly. “Only in bed?”

“Fuck off, Taeyong-”

“But you’ve got a new boyfriend, don’t you? Someone new who gets to see you like that.” Kibum tried to pull free, but Taeyong was significantly stronger than he was. “Pity. I missed having you.” He pulled away and started towards the door, but Kibum stopped him when he spoke.

“Why did you really come home, Taeyong? Because I’m willing to bet it wasn’t on a whim.” Taeyong chuckled quietly, then looked over his shoulder at Kibum. “No, you knew all about what was going on here. You knew about me and Leeteuk and all of this.” Taeyong laughed darkly, shrugged nonchalantly. “You know something, something that Taeil doesn’t. You know about the others, don’t you? You came back to protect Taeil from them.” That earned him another shrug. “Then why didn’t you tell him?”

Taeyong turned, still laughing quietly. “How badly do you want to know?” He walked towards Kibum again, head cocked to the side in thought. “Perhaps I should tell him. Gods know it would make my life easier.”

“No.”

“No?” Taeyong slipped his hands underneath Kibum’s jaw, pulled him forward gently. “You don’t want me to tell him?” Kibum’s jaw clenched and Taeyong laughed, leaned close enough that his mouth brushed along Kibum’s cheek. “Why shouldn’t I? He’ll be furious if he finds out that I knew and didn’t tell him. Why should I risk my wellbeing for something that you want?”

“Taeyong, _please_.” Kibum went quietly when Taeyong pushed him backwards into the wall. “Please don’t tell him. I’ll do anything that you want, just please…please.”

Taeyong smiled. “You want me to betray my teacher for you? My best friend? He saved my life, I owe him everything, and you want me to turn against him? What makes you think I would ever consider helping you?”

“You’ve done it before. You helped me, once, even though he wouldn’t have wanted you to. Why can’t you do it again?” Taeyong didn’t say anything. “Taeyong, please help me. I have to protect my family. We both know Taeil will make it out of this alive, no matter how many of my friends show up; it’s only going to make a difference in Leeteuk getting out alive.”

“Not you? Just Leeteuk?”

“You and I both know that Taeil will never let that happen. There’s no way in hell he’s letting me go. But he might let Leeteuk go, especially if they take out Seyoung.” Taeyong’s nose crinkled at the mention of the vampire and Kibum took notice. “Taeil won’t get hurt. Neither will you. I can guarantee that. Just please, _please_ help me protect my family. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

“And you’d rather I lose my family to Taeil’s fury. Because you know that’s who he’ll take his anger out on. You know that they’ll be the ones getting hurt when he finds out about this. He won’t take it out on me, because he knows that the best way to get to me is by hurting them.”

“You don’t give two shits about them.” Taeyong huffed out of a quiet laugh and his teeth scraped Kibum’s ear gently. “You hate them. You hate all of them. Taeil’s the only reason that you ever spend any time here. You would kill them yourself if you didn’t think Taeil would kill you for it.” Taeyong laughed softly, teeth catching on Kibum’s ear as he pulled away. “Help me. I’ll do whatever you want, just please…please help me. Help my family.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Yes.”

***

“Stop.”

The entire party slowed to a halt when Ryeowook spoke. He inhaled slowly, nostrils flaring as he did so. “Someone’s following us.” Donghae sniffed delicately, then nodded once, one arm wrapping around Eunhyuk’s waist protectively. “Stakes, out, now.” There was a quiet growl in his voice as his eyes flicked around the shadows quickly, searching for whatever it was that he could smell. Behind him, he heard the hunters draw their stakes slowly. “I- Joonmyun, I know that scent. Who is it?” Joonmyun opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, whoever it was that was following them stepped out from the shadows.

Joonmyun was the first to react. He growled quietly, fangs sliding free. “Jongdae, what in the _hell_ are you doing here?”

He darted forward quickly, came to a halt in front of Joonmyun and Ryeowook. “I’m sorry. Jongin asked me to come; he didn’t want to leave you guys one vampire down because of him.”

“Are you out of your mind? This is so incredibly reckless-”

“I was going to come anyway! I want to help.” Ryeowook growled, but Jongdae cut him off. “Kibum saved my life. I want to help get him home.” Joonmyun sighed quietly, but tugged Ryeowook backwards by the wrist.

“Let it go, Ryeowook. We can’t exactly send him home; he’d follow us anyway.” Ryeowook opened his mouth to save something, but Joonmyun spoke before he could. “I know you don’t like it, I don’t either, but we really don’t have a choice. He’s coming on this trip whether we want him to or not.”

“I’m not a _child_ anymore, Ryeowook. I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself, you know that better than anyone else.” He stepped forward and put a hand on Ryeowook’s arm. “Please let me help. Heechul is my brother too, I want to help him just as much as you do.”

“Your wanting to help him doesn’t mean that you should be here. Heechul wants to go along just as much as you claim to, but that doesn’t mean we let him.”

Almost as soon as he stopped talking, they stilled. Someone else was coming, but before they could do anything about it, someone had grabbed Jongdae and yanked him backwards. After a moment, Ryeowook relaxed when he met Yixing’s gaze. “What in the hell are you doing here?” He looked around, then realized that Yixing wasn’t the only one who had joined them. “All of you. What are you doing here?”

“Luhan sent us.” Yifan spoke quietly. “We’re here to help. He…evidently, he met with the person running this whole operation, and learned some things. Some things that didn’t bode well for you guys. So, he sent us to, ah, back you guys up.”

“Stupid.” Joonmyun muttered the word. “Stupid, _stupid_. That’s the kind of thinking that gets people killed.” He glanced over the group of people, eyes settling on Youngbae. “You of all people should have known to keep out of this. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“I’m _going_ to save my boyfriend.”

They all stilled when they heard a twig snap under someone’s foot. Yifan was the first to move, shifting towards the front of the group to better see the source of the noise. After a moment, a very familiar vampire stepped out of the shadows, his dark eyes glinting dangerously. “You were planning on saving him? Well, if I had known that, I would have put off the torture much longer.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Good morning, pretty Kibum.” Kibum blinked sleepily, not fully aware of what was going on around them. The next thing he knew, he could feel a gentle mouth on his shoulder, nipping softly at the skin there. “Wake up, sweetheart.” Kibum huffed quietly, burrowed further into the blankets. “Up, darling. I’m sure Taeil has something for you to do today.”

Kibum blinked quickly, then sat up, something seeming to come to him. “I have to go.” He started to climb out of bed, but Taeyong grabbed him, tugged him back into his chest. “Taeyong, let me _go_ , this was a mistake.” He pulled himself free, a split second before Taeyong snagged him and pinned Kibum down to the bed. “Let go.” When Taeyong didn’t, Kibum let a shock of energy burn through him, all the way into Taeyong’s body. Taeyong flinched and released Kibum, giving the younger sorcerer the chance to get to the door before he felt white hot pain sear through his spine. He fell to his knees, spinning around and releasing his own magic. He watched Taeyong’s head snap backwards, a split second before the elder’s fist clenched and Kibum felt his joints freeze.

“You’re very rude. I wanted, like, two more minutes. Two more minutes, was that too much to ask for?” Kibum growled and Taeyong shot a tight-lipped smile his way. “Get back to Taeil, then. He’ll probably want to see you.” He wiggled his fingers and Kibum’s joints unlocked. The door behind Kibum swung open and he fell to the floor before he could get his balance back. “Feel free to come back tonight.”

Kibum flipped him off as he walked out the door, froze when he found himself face to face with Taeil. The sorcerer looked absolutely murderous, eyes gleaming yellow. “Come with me. Now.” He grabbed Kibum by the wrist and dragged him down the hallway, calling quietly over his shoulder. “I want you, too, Taeyong. Don’t ask questions.” He heard a long, disgruntled sigh, before Taeyong appeared at Taeil’s side, jaw clenched furiously. “You two have some serious fucking _explaining_ to do.”

“Taeil-”

“I said no questions. I don’t want to hear it.” He fell silent, not speaking again until they reached the door to the living room. “Although I think I know who will want to hear what you have to say.” He pushed the door open, then all but shoved Kibum through, dragging Taeyong in after him. Taeyong swore loudly when he saw who was waiting for them, ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

Kibum froze when he found himself face to face with a ground of very furious looking people, both vampires and hunters alike. He glanced over them, then at Taeil, then back at the group in front of him, before he looked at the ground. “Taeil-”

“Zip it.” Kibum snapped his mouth shut. “Sit down.” Kibum obeyed without a word, sank down quietly into a chair, gaze on the floor. Taeil growled quietly, then knelt in front of Kibum, grabbed him by the jaw to look him in the eyes. “Tell me, pretty Kibum, that you didn’t honestly think you could trick me. Tell me that you didn’t honestly believe it would work. You might not be as powerful as me, but I didn’t think you were that much of an amateur.”

“And I didn’t think that you’d actually fall for it. You didn’t expect it, that’s on you.” Kibum looked over Taeil’s shoulder at Seokjin, who had a protective hand on Namjoon’s soldier. “Remind me that I need to punch Luhan in the face.” Seokjin huffed out a laugh and Kibum smiled, before looking back at Taeil. “I must say,” he paused, examining Taeil’s face, “for as powerful as you are, for as all-knowing as you claim to be,” another pause, just to watch the confusion that fell across Taeil’s face, “you’re remarkably shortsighted.”

“Am I?” Taeil paused, then motioned Taeyong forward. “Keep an eye on them. I’ll be back in a minute.” Taeyong nodded as Taeil got to his feet and slipped out of the room. He didn’t touch Kibum, but he did come to crouch in front of him.

“Careful, Taeyong. You’re gloating.” Taeyong chuckled, looked down, and in that half of a second, Kibum placed a hand on the center of his chest and set a blast of magic through his arm, straight into Taeyong’s body. The sorcerer flew backwards and hit a wall, before scrambling to his feet, hissing like a cat. He tried to move to attack Kibum back, but Seokjin got to him first, drove his fist straight through Taeyong’s chest.

“Namjoon, open the window.” The hunter obeyed silently, stepped out of the way a split second before two other vampires slipped through it. “And which dumbass let _you_ come along?”

“No one. I didn’t ask.” Jongdae came to a halt beside Kibum and handed him a stake, ignoring the look that Kibum sent him. “I have no doubt that, if Heechul had a shred of stupid in him, he’d be here too. Fortunately for you, he was very willing to take everyone’s advice and stay home.”

Seokjin clicked his tongue quietly, grabbing their attention. “We need to find the others and get out.”

Kibum looked up at him quickly. “Sorry, others? Plural others? Like more than me and Leeteuk?”

“That would be correct, yes.” Seokjin dropped Taeyong’s body out of the window, then closed it behind him, before walking towards the door. “Namjoon, Kangin, Kyuhyun, go find the others. Kibum, Jongdae, Yixing, come with me.” He opened the door and stepped out, found himself face to face with Yoongi. He didn’t hesitate, his fist colliding with Yoongi’s face. The vampire’s head snapped backwards and Yoongi growled, before he was pulled forward into the room and launched into the wall. “Of all the people you could have worked for,” Seokjin paused, just to throw Yoongi into another wall. “you picked this fucker?” Yoongi snarled, launched himself at Seokjin, but Seokjin grabbed him, shoved a hand through Yoongi’s chest. “I told all of you, if you ever so much as thought about betraying me, I’d take your heart out. You should know that I don’t say that lightly.” Without another word, he ripped his hand free. Yoongi dropped to the floor without a sound, and Seokjin growled quietly. “Now, let’s fucking _go_ , before there’s any more surprises.” Without another word, he left the room, the others following quickly after him.

“Can you get us to him?”

“I can.” Kibum’s grip on the stake in his hand tightened. “We can’t let Taeil get away. He gets away, this isn’t over. We kill him here, then that will be the end of it.” Seokjin nodded once. “He’s been behind all of this. He was the reason Hakyeon got so powerful, he was the reason that any of this happened to us. Between him and Taeyong, there’s enough power to destroy all of us.” Seokjin hummed quietly, ducked around a corner when Kibum pushed him. “Up the stairs. All the way up, then turn left.” Kibum followed him quickly, then stopped a floor from the top, motioning for Yixing and Jongdae to go ahead of him. “I’ll catch up. There’s something I need to take care of.” He made his way slowly down the hallway, until he reached the very last door.

Very dimly, he was aware of a quiet voice in his head, weaving gentle guidance through his thoughts. _I would advise against this, but you’ve never listened to my advice. He’s strong, stronger than you could have imagined. I know what you’re going to want to do, and I know that you won’t listen to this either, but you can’t do it. You’ll get hurt, you’ll get your friend hurt, and I know that that isn’t what you want to do. For once in your life, slow down and be careful._

Kibum shook his head quickly, put his hand on the doorknob, then pushed inside.

Just as before, he found the two vampires waiting for him. One of them looked up when he came in, the other kept his back to the door. There was a long silence, before the one facing him spoke quietly. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to finally show up.” Kibum rolled his eyes and Seyoung laughed quietly, before he walked forward. “But you knew that.”

“I did.” Kibum paused. “I also knew that you knew what their plan was, what my plan was. Why didn’t you tell Taeil?” Seyoung cocked his head to the side in thought. “You owe him everything, you told me so yourself. Both you and Taeyong. And when it came down to it…both of you kept things from him that would have stopped this before it happened.” Seyoung didn’t speak, but he did extend one hand. Carefully, Kibum placed the stake in it, and Seyoung shot him a tight smile. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to let him go nicely?”

“Oh, trust me, sweet Kibum, I’m not the one who need to convince.” Seyoung turned away, taking the stake with him. With that statement said, the vampire standing by the window turned, something akin to conflict on his face. “Your little spirit friends were right, you know. You need to slow down and think this through. Don’t fuck it up.” Seyoung stepped around Kibum, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Is Heechul here?”

Kibum looked at Leeteuk for a long moment before he spoke. “No. They didn’t let him come.” He cleared his throat. “We don’t have to do this. I don’t _want_ to do this.”

“You think I have a choice in the matter.” Leeteuk looked away quickly, frowning. “I- I wouldn’t expect you to understand-”

“Wouldn’t expect me to understand _what_? What it’s like, being a newborn vampire? Being twisted so tightly under someone else’s grip, being told what to do, when to do it, not having a shred of choice in the matter? Having someone in your head all the time, controlling you, taking away all of your free will? You think I haven’t felt that, you think I wasn’t in Heechul’s head for every damn second of it? You think I didn’t see what that did to his family, what Hakyeon did to all of his children, what happened to all of them? You think I don’t know these things?” Kibum fell silent, chest heaving. “You think I’ve never had anyone in my head? I have _everyone_ in my head, and for the past two weeks, I have felt nothing but Taeil, forcing me to relive the worst of their memories, forcing me to relive my brother being turned, stripped down to Hakyeon’s psychopathic little killing machine, relive my family being torn apart by vampires. So, yes, I do understand what you’re going through. I know what it’s like to have that taken away. And I’m going to tell you right now, you do have a choice. They might have made you a vampire, but they do not control you. You were a hunter first; you were my family first; and hunters do not let vampires control them.”

Leeteuk stilled, eyes on the floor. “Is Heechul alright?”

“He wants you home. He wants to know that you’re safe.”

Kibum walked forward, came to a halt when Leeteuk spoke again. “You- that was my stake, that you brought in here, that Seyoung took.” Kibum nodded once. “Where- how did you get that? Taeil said that it was destroyed, that Hakyeon destroyed it.” Kibum placed a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder. “Where did you get it?”

“One thing you should know, Leeteuk, is that Taeil doesn’t have a moral code. He doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. He will lie his way out of anything.” Leeteuk’s eyes widened as a stake dropped into Kibum’s hand from his sleeve. “Your stake was never destroyed. More importantly, Seyoung never took it.” He held the weapon up in front of him. “I took it so they wouldn’t have the chance.”

Very slowly, he held it out to Leeteuk. “Every hunter needs his stake, if he wants to fight vampires.” Leeteuk nodded once, then took the stake by the handle. “Come. We have a liar to kill.”


	18. Chapter 18

When Heechul woke up, he was no longer in his home.

He sat up quickly, head whipping around, eyes narrow, fangs extended. It was dark, dark enough that even his eyes couldn’t pick up on anything, not until they fell on the figure standing not ten feet away from him. He scrambled to his feet, growling, then froze when he saw the person’s face. “I- Hakyeon?”

The man in front of him stepped forward, a small smile tugging at his lips. There was a scar on his face, one that Hakyeon hadn’t seen before. “Heechul.” He paused, eyes filled with concern. “My favorite child.”

“Oh, don’t bother-”

“You are.” Hakyeon met Heechul’s gaze. “You always have been. For as much as I tormented you, for having feelings, for getting upset, I did admire it. You were strong. Stronger than me, until the very end.” He looked…upset, if Heechul was reading him right. “You were so willing to die for the people you loved. You would have died for me, for your brothers, for your family, for your mate. I was never that kind of person.” He put a hand on Heechul’s shoulder, holding him in place. “I did love you, you know.”

“You don’t know what love is.”

Hakyeon shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t. Maybe I am just the heartless vampire you always believed I was.” He didn’t seem too bothered by what Heechul had said. “I am sorry, I hope you know that. For what I did to you, and to your brothers, and to your family, and to your mate. He didn’t deserve what he got.” Heechul rolled his eyes. “Let me finish. For as much as Taeyong and Taeil and their friends did for me, I hated them. I would never have bitten him if I had known where he’d end up.” Heechul snorted quietly and Hakyeon sighed. “Don’t believe me, fine. It doesn’t much matter if you do; I’m already dead. Your baby brother made sure of that.”

“Why are you here?”

“I came to warn you.” Hakyeon stopped for a moment, eyes glinting red for a second. “They’re coming to you. Vampires. A hoard of them. While your friends were trying to convince you not to go after your mate – a brilliant move on their part – Taeyong was busy building an army. Taeil doesn’t know about them, but that won’t matter if all of you end up dead. Get the hunters, get all of them, and all of the vampires. Everyone you can. Even that sorceress. Rip them to pieces.”

“Why-”

“There isn’t much I can do out there. I can’t protect you in the real world, not anymore, not like I used to.” Hakyeon spat the words, as if they burned his tongue. “I killed your mate. Let me try to save him. Let me try to save _you_.”

***

Jongdae went perfectly still just outside of the room that Kibum had directed them to. He heard the others stop behind him, felt Yixing’s hand come to rest on his back, but if they said anything, he didn’t hear it. After a moment, he turned to look at them, read the concern written all over their faces, felt it mirrored in his own mind. “I-” He could see the protest on Seokjin’s face already, but he pushed forward regardless. “Let me talk to him. Alone.”

Yixing was shaking his head before Jongdae finished his sentence. “Absolutely not. He’d kill you.”

“He won’t.”

“He was the one who made all of those weapons that Hakyeon used against you. He was the one that helped Hakyeon do any of those things to you-”

“What, you mean these?” Jongdae yanked his sleeves back, revealing the scars that circled his wrists. “Hakyeon would have hurt me even without Taeil’s help. Joonmyun, Ryeowook, you both know that he intended to do what he did even before he had Taeil’s help in the matter.”

“Jongdae-”

“Don’t.” Without another word, he spun around and reached for the handle of the door. Very carefully, he pulled it open, and stepped inside, shutting the door tightly behind him.

A long, stiff silence followed the click of the lock, unbroken even by the sound of their breathing. It was unnerving, to say the least, to be alone with someone this powerful; he’d done it once, years and years ago, and the feeling didn’t change. He bit down gently on his lower lip, chewing delicately, then slipped his hands into his pockets. “I figure you’ve got about ten minutes before they break in here and beat your ass.”

Taeil spun around on his heel, smiling dangerously, eyes flashing. “I’m surprised they let you come in here alone, darling.” He didn’t move from where he was standing. “Come here, darling. Let me see you up close.” A long moment passed, then Jongdae walked slowly across the room, hands still in his pockets. He came to a halt right in front of Taeil, face perfectly passive. “Oh, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen you, darling.” He went to slide a hand underneath Jongdae’s jaw, but Jongdae stepped backwards before he could. Taeil made a soft clicking noise with his tongue, but didn’t step forward, didn’t come any closer to him. “What exactly were you hoping to accomplish by coming in here on your own, my love?”

“Please don’t call me that. You know how I feel about that.”

“I am more than aware. I’m not doing it to aggravate _you_ , darling, you should know that. I’m doing it to aggravate your pretty boyfriend.” Jongdae’s jaw clenched and Taeil giggled quietly. “Come on in, Yixing.” After a moment, the door opened and Yixing stepped into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. “Let’s have a little chat.”

Yixing came to stand beside Jongdae. “I have nothing to say to you.” He slipped a hand into the crook of Jongdae’s elbow, tried to tug him gently out of the room. “Let’s _go_.”

“No.” Jongdae and Taeil spoke at the same time, but only Jongdae continued. “If you want to go, you can, but I’m staying here.” Taeil smirked, then leaned back against the wall, arms folded over his chest. Jongdae looked at him for a long moment before he spoke again. “Why did you do it?”

“I’m sorry, love, you’re going to have to be more specific.”

After a moment, Jongdae raised his hand, sleeve falling back to reveal his wrist once more. “There’s a list. We can start with these.”

Taeil exhaled slowly, then straightened, extended one hand, palm up. After a moment, Jongdae put his hand into Taeil’s, allowed the sorcerer to flip his hand around, fingers tracing his scars. He met Jongdae’s gaze, an unfamiliar look in his eyes. “For those, darling, I will apologize. I did not know that this was how he would use them. Even I couldn’t predict that.” He released Jongdae and stepped away from him. “Hakyeon is – was – my friend. He was one of my first students. The first one that got turned. I couldn’t just cut ties with him, after everything that we went through.”

“And that justified everything that you helped him do?”

“That is in no way what I said.” The words came out fierce, defensive, sharper than Jongdae had been expecting. After a few moments, Taeil exhaled quietly and spoke again, voice softer. “I had no idea how far he would go. I had no idea about what he would try to do. There were sorcerers working with him who were able to cloud him from my sight; there was nothing I could have done to see it, and for that, I am sorry. I had no way of knowing that he was going to do what he did.” Taeil paused, considering Jongdae and Yixing for a long moment. “You were right, you know, about him. I didn’t believe you, but you were right.”

“I know.”

Taeil smiled, then leaned back against the window. “You want to know why I’m still fighting you.” Jongdae nodded once, jaw clenched. “Your friends hurt my family. Your _family_ hurt my family. I can’t let that go. If there was one thing that I wanted to teach Hakyeon and his children, it was that family was more important than anything else. Your family is your life; you don’t let them go, you don’t let anyone else touch them.” Taeil sighed quietly. “You of all people know that I’m going to protect them above anyone else.”

“I know.” He paused, a strange look on his face. “I’m sorry.” This time, he let Yixing pull him out of the room, leaving Taeil alone. Joonmyun was at their side in a second, concern written all over his face. “It’s _fine_ , Joonmyun, we’re okay, he didn’t hurt us.” Joonmyun growled softly, but didn’t say anything.

They all looked up at once when Taeil opened the door. He stood illuminated in the doorway for a few seconds, before stepping out and closing it behind himself, eyes calmer than Jongdae had expected. He looked around at all of them in turn, considering each individual with careful eyes. “Seyoung, let their friends go.” After a moment, Seyoung was standing at his side, looking absolutely outraged. “We’ll be taking our leave, now. We will yield.”

“We will _what_?”

Seyoung spat the words, snarling at the end of his question. Taeil sighed quietly, then turned to him, eyes gentle. “Seyoung, surely by now you understand that violence is not always the answer.” Seyoung growled again, teeth bared. “There is a time for peace, in our world. And I have no doubt that there will come a time for violence, but that time is not now. Put your fangs away, and let us leave this place.”

“They killed my _mate_.”

“Seyoung-”

“They treasure their Soul-Bonds so dearly. But when I want to do the same thing, when I want to avenge his death, just like we are all apt to want to do, then I am the one that needs to control myself. That isn’t right, Taeil.” He fell silent for a few seconds, breathing harshly. “Leeteuk killed the one person that ever made me happy, the one person I ever truly loved. Takuya and I were supposed to spend eternity together; the idiot hunter took that away from us.” When Taeil reached to grab him, Seyoung stepped out of the way. “They took my mate away from me. If I cannot have eternity, then I will settle for their deaths, but nothing less.” Taeil shot a look at him as Seyoung backed away. “You were the one who taught us that family means everything.”

Without another word, he slipped away, leaving their presence entirely.

***

“I heard you came looking for me.”

Youngbae whirled around, found Kibum standing in the doorway, partially hidden in shadow. From here, Youngbae could see the scratches on his skin, the scar that crossed his face, but nothing more. He darted across the room quickly, came to a halt about a foot from Kibum, breathing hard. “You- you’re- they wouldn’t let me see you.”

“I know. I requested that they keep you away, at least until I was mostly healed, for two reasons.” He must have seen the question in Youngbae’s eyes. “First, because I did not wish for you to have to see me in that state. I felt how scared my brothers were, I could not put you through that.” He paused, considering Youngbae carefully. “Second, because there were thoughts in my head that I did not want you to see. There were things that Taeil put there that… that do not concern us. Secrets that I must keep secret.”

“And now?”

“Now, my love, I’m all yours.”


	19. Chapter 19

“Tell me the truth. What happened?”

Heechul sighed quietly, turned away from the window to face Luhan and Seunghyun. Kibum stood beside him, but didn’t turn, kept his gaze pinned on something – nothing – outside. “Hakyeon came to me. In a dream. And I know very well that it could have easily been a trick, but I know my maker, and I know that what I saw was real. I know that what he told me is the truth.” He paused, inhaled slowly. “Taeyong – Taeil’s student – was absent from his teacher’s side for a long time. He would have had Taeil believe that it was because he was taking a break, expanding his horizons, trying to live his own life. That didn’t end up being the case. In the time that he was away, Taeyong built an army, of vampires and sorcerers and hunters alike. They’re coming here. They’re coming for us.

“From what I know of Seyoung, he’s gone to join them. That’s where he headed as soon as he left Taeil’s side.” Heechul glanced at Kibum, but the sorcerer made no move to speak. “He knows that we’re vulnerable. He knows that Leeteuk is out of the battlefield, he knows that Zitao isn’t here, he knows that Seokjin has returned to his own territory, he knows that many of the hunters that went after Kibum and Leeteuk were injured in the process. He knows all of that, and he damn well intends to use it to his advantage.” He cut off with a quiet noise in his throat, looking away from them.

Luhan glanced at Seunghyun, then over at Minho. After a few moments of silent consideration, he spoke quietly. “Minho, gather the hunters. No one leaves this building without a stake and a partner. Any sign of intruders, report back here immediately. Do not engage unless necessary.” Minho nodded once, before slipping out of the room. “Seunghyun, get word to the Council. Don’t mention Leeteuk.” Seunghyun followed Minho, leaving Luhan alone with Heechul and Kibum. “Kibum-”

“I’ve tried everything.” The sorcerer spat the words like venom, then went still. He took a deep breath, before speaking again. “I’m sorry. But I’ve done everything that I can possibly think of. I’ve tried every possible trick. I’ve gone much further into his mind than I feel comfortable with. I don’t know what more there is that I can do without causing further damage.” Heechul put a hand on his shoulder, gentle. “Luhan, I think we have to consider the possibility that we might not be able to get him back.”

Heechul growled in his throat, turned to glare at his brother. Kibum didn’t flinch, his gaze locked on that one spot outside the window. “Heechul, I know that the idea upsets you. I know how much he means to you. But I also know that the only reason that he is alive is because of Taeil’s gods-awful magic, I know that he spent the entirety of his vampire life with Seyoung, and I know better than anyone what vampires can do to a mind that fragile. Being brought back from the brink of death is no small feat, it left him incredibly vulnerable, and you’re a fool to think that Seyoung didn’t take advantage of it, didn’t do everything in his power to tear him away from us, from the hunters, from you.”

“I’m his _mate_.”

“That bond can be broken.” Kibum hissed, furious, but Kibum didn’t seem to have heard it. “It’s a long and arduous process, but it can be done. And I have no doubt that that is exactly what Seyoung tried to do to Leeteuk. I don’t know if it worked, but I also know that I’m not going to let you near him until I know that he won’t try to kill you.”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“I think you’re wrong. I know a lot of things about vampires.” He paused, hand coming up to rest on the glass. “I know that you love him so much that you’d never lay a hand on him, you’d never hurt him like that. But I also know that because of that, there is huge potential for him to hurt you, because you won’t defend yourself. And I won’t risk my brother – or Leeteuk’s soul – in that way. If he hurts you, and then comes back to us, he will never, _ever_ forgive himself for that.” Finally, he turned to look at Heechul. “I’m not just looking out for you, Heechul. I’m trying to protect him, too.”

***

“What’s wrong with me?”

Kibum turned when he heard Leeteuk speak, eyes gentle as he gazed at the vampire. They were alone, locked in a room on the other end of the hunter compound, protected by enough magic that no one else was getting in. “You were dead. Your soul had left your body, was on its way to the spirit realm, but then it was ripped back to our world. That’s how you were brought back, you know. Taeil forced your soul back into your dead body. That’s why it hurt so much, why you responded so differently to being a vampire than anyone else.”

“How do you know about that?” Leeteuk tried to sit up, then relented when he realized he couldn’t. “Who told you about that?”

“I saw it in your head. Your thoughts aren’t very quiet, Leeteuk. And besides, Seyoung wasn’t hard to read. Everything he did was exactly as I predicted, magic or not. I didn’t need to be a sorcerer to know what he was doing.” Kibum sighed quietly, before walking to Leeteuk’s side. “You were very lucky – and I hesitate to say this, but I think it needs to be said – that you had Seyoung when you woke up. He is, perhaps, the only other vampire who has been forced to undergo turning the way you were forced to experience it. He’s certainly the only one I’ve ever met. Taeil did the same thing to him that he did to you.”

“I don’t feel lucky.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t – and won’t – be saying that part to anyone else. But things could have gone a lot worse for you when you woke up. He knew how to avoid those things. That’s why you’re still able to think for yourself, because he didn’t let the- the after-effects of what Taeil did consume you. That is, perhaps, the one good thing he’s ever done.” Kibum perched on the edge of Leeteuk’s bed, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully. “How much do you remember, of your human life?”

Leeteuk frowned, eyebrows drawing together in frustration. “I-” He paused, almost like he was struggling. “My family was killed by a vampire, I know that. That’s why I became a hunter. That’s where I met you.” This time, when he tried to sit up, he half-managed it, ended up propped up on the pillows. “That’s how I met Heechul.” Kibum hummed quietly, nodding along with Leeteuk. “Heechul had a maker, his name was…was Hakyeon. Hakyeon wanted the hunters dead. They – we – went after him, because he took some of the hunters and some of the vampires and was going to kill them. That was where I died.”

“Do you remember who killed you?”

“Who turned me? No. I just remember that it hurt.” He fell silent for a long moment, gaze thoughtful. “I remember dreaming that Heechul found my body. He cried over me.” Something flashed across Kibum’s face, fear twisting in his gut. Leeteuk didn’t notice. “I woke up alone. And then Seyoung found me. He fed me, brought me back to his home.” Leeteuk cocked his head to the side in thought, then looked at Kibum, eyes soft. “The- the vampire, the one that Hakyeon’s maker lived with, Yoongi. He was working for Seyoung.”

“We know. We killed him.” Leeteuk nodded slowly, slid down further into the bed. “And the hunters, what do you remember about them?”

“You’re the magic one. You’re Heechul’s human brother. Taeil took you. Taeyong talked about you a lot. It was annoying.” He looked around the room for a moment, before he continued. “Luhan was the leader of the hunters.” Kibum nodded once. “I- someone had a vampire mate. When Luhan found out, he was pissed. That’s why the whole vampires versus hunters thing started – I mean, not the whole _conflict_ , because that’s been on for centuries, I mean, all the drama that started here. The drama that got me killed.”

Kibum smiled at him for a few seconds, before he spoke. “Heechul wants to see you.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to see him.” Kibum nodded once. “He…there were things he didn’t tell me. Things that he should have told me.” He paused, took a breath. “He shouldn’t have kept so many secrets, not from me. I loved him, I would have done anything for him. But now…now I can’t. I won’t.” He looked at Kibum after a moment. “Don’t let him come here. I don’t want him here.”

“I’ll do everything I can.” Kibum got to his feet and started towards the door, pausing for a split second to look back at Leeteuk when he spoke.

“I feel like there’s a hole.” He paused, gestured to his chest. “Right there. Like something’s missing.” A long silence followed his comment. “How do I fix it, Kibum?”

***

“Your little toy may have escaped, but I think you’ll find that your plan is working far better than I could have predicted.” Seyoung turned his head just enough that he could see the speaker, a strange look on his face. “Before you left Taeil’s side, there was only one way for that situation to end. But now…now that you’ve gone, now that you’re on your own, now that you’re with me and my little friends, I see a whole new future ahead of you.

“And how, pray tell, did you survive?” A cackle, followed by silence, was all that his question was met with. “I heard what happened to you. I saw your body. Kibum let me see what they did to you. They ripped your heart out, they slaughtered you, and yet here you stand.” Finally, he turned all the way, to face the man who had joined him. “What’s your secret?”

“Never underestimate the power of a little magic, dear Seyoung.” As the man came forward, he spoke again. “Isn’t that what Taeil always told you? That’s how he brought Leeteuk back, wasn’t it? By breaking all the laws of magic that existed, and pulling the poor thing’s soul back to our world?” He paused, a small smile on his face. “That was the one thing that I very nearly abandoned him for. The one thing that nearly turned me away from him forever. Doing that was beyond cruel.” Another long pause. “Come to think of it, I started to turn away from Taeil ages ago. Well. That’s why we have our new friends here, don’t we? Because I decided Taeil’s approach to the situation wasn’t enough.”

“The hunters and vampires who came after Leeteuk are all home.” The man nodded once. “But Leeteuk is out of combat, there’s no way they’ll let him fight. Seokjin and his followers have buzzed on out of there. Zitao has left, looking for the one who cursed him – funny enough, he would have found him if he had gone after Leeteuk.”

“They know that we’re coming.” Seyoung stilled, confusion twisting his face. “Someone told them. I don’t know who, but they know that we’re coming after them, they know what I’ve done. They’re getting ready. They won’t be prepared, they don’t know how powerful we are, but they won’t be taken completely by surprise as we had planned.”

Seyoung kicked at the dirt underneath their feet before he spoke again. “They’ll pay for it. They’ll pay for what they did to my family.”

“Oh, I never doubted that. You are truly Hakyeon’s child, are you not? Perhaps he didn’t turn you, but he did raise you, and you turned out far better than any of the others.”


	20. Chapter 20

Luhan, it seemed, was the last one to arrive at the meeting he had called. When he stepped into the office, all conversation ceased, as everyone waiting there turned to look at him. Kibum was the first to speak, voice calm. “We’ve got eyes on the vampire hoard. We’ve got maybe four days, at most, before they get here. Two if they keep their patterns up.” He was perched on the edge of Luhan’s desk and Youngbae was standing beside him.

“How’s Leeteuk?”

Kibum looked hesitant to answer, but did it anyways, eyes guarded. “He’s awake.” Luhan’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded once, let it go. “What’s the plan, Luhan?”

Luhan looked around the room for a moment before he spoke. “Kyungsoo, Jongin,” they both looked at him quickly, shoulders tensing when they saw the look in his eyes. “You know the street rogues the best. Find them. Tell them what’s happening. They want to keep outsiders away from our city as much as we do; it’s their home too. Get them on our side.” The pair nodded, then flitted away. “Seunghyun, I need you to find Zitao. We need him back here as quickly as possible.” Seunghyun nodded once, stood to leave, but paused when Luhan spoke again. “What did the Council have to say?”

“They’ll send what help they can. It helps that Jennie and Lisa are on our side.” He held still for a moment, worry flashing across his face for a split second. “But neither them nor I believe that their help will get here in time. We’re on our own.”

“When are we not?” Seunghyun nodded his agreement, then slipped out of the room. Luhan looked next at Minho. “Contact the hunters in neighboring cities. See if they can help.” He turned to Minseok and Heechul as Minho left the room. “Minseok, make sure the vampires know.” He nodded, then vanished out the door.

Heechul turned on Kibum almost immediately. “He’s _awake_?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s _all_?”

“Yes.” Kibum paused, let Heechul stew for a minute before he spoke again. “Heechul, his soul was halfway to dead before it was put back in his body. That doesn’t- that isn’t something that you can recover from. Ever. His mind was fractured when that happened, split between life before he died and life after, and that split was made worse when Seyoung spent six months fucking around with his mind. So, yes, he’s awake, and yes, that’s all there is to it. That in itself is a miracle.”

“What do you mean, his mind was fractured?”

Kibum winced internally. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned that part. “He…he doesn’t remember a lot of what happened before he was killed. And there are memories that have been tampered with, although I’m not sure of the extent of that. I know that he doesn’t remember the names of many of his friends. He barely knows mine. He knows Luhan is our leader, he knows that I have magic, he knows your name. He knows Hakyeon and Yoongi, but not Seokjin or any of Hakyeon’s other kids, as far as I know. He doesn’t remember who turned him.” He looked Heechul right in the eyes before he spoke next. “He remembers that he became a hunter because a vampire – just one, he even got that detail – killed his family.” Heechul fought to keep his face passive. “Luhan, could you leave us alone for a moment?” After a few seconds of silence, Luhan nodded and left the room. As soon as the door closed, Kibum spoke again, voice quiet. “I know that you love him, I know you want to see him, I know you want to tell him the truth, and I know that you want to apologize, but Heechul-”

“No.”

“I think he knows. I don’t think he knows consciously, but I think, if he saw your face, he would know. I think that Seyoung brought enough of those memories to the surface that he would be able to look at you and recognize that you were the one who did it. I think that he would lose his mind at that, I think that he would be sent right back to square one of those whole endeavor, so please, _please_ , Heechul, stay away from him, at least until I know the extent of what Seyoung did.”

“You can’t stop me.”

Heechul started towards the door, but stopped when Kibum spoke again. “Seyoung altered his memories. Or maybe it was Taeil, I don’t know, but he doesn’t remember you crying over his body. He thinks it was a dream. He believes that we abandoned him there, that we left him for dead. He hates us for it. Even me. I can’t imagine what else Seyoung did, but I know that he did it with the intention of hurting you and Leeteuk both.”

“Let me see my mate. Or I’ll break in there myself.”

“Do it if you will. When you walk out crying, I’ll be standing there to say I told you so.” He paused, pushed past Heechul to get to the door before speaking again. “Or, when you wind up dead, I’ll make sure to let him know that it was your insolence that got you into that situation. That, my dear brother, will be mere seconds before Leeteuk sets out on a journey to kill himself because he cannot live without you, he cannot stand to be the one that hurts you. That’s not what his head or his heart are telling him right now, but that is what his soul says to me. I’m not going to let that particular future occur, not if I can stop it.”

“And as much as I value your feedback on the matter, that’s my mate that we’re talking about, not yours, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to keep me away from him. I have been without him for the past six months. The last time I spoke to him ended in a fight. I’m not going to let that be his memory of me.”

“Memories aren’t that easy to _fix_ , Heechul!” Kibum snapped, then sighed quickly, sagging against the doorframe. “Give me a week. Give me a week, and then I’ll let you see him. Please. Please let me help you – and him – with this. Please, Heechul, give me some time. I want to know exactly what Seyoung did to him. Once I know that, then we can figure out how best to go about this, how best to fix this.” He looked at his brother for a few seconds. “I know how much you love him. I know how much you want to fix this. And I want to help you, Heechul, but I need you to work with me. I’m the only person that he’s willing to listen to-”

“Who else has seen him?”

Kibum went silent for a few long moments, eyes downcast. “Luhan and Jonghyun. That’s it.” After a long silence, Heechul nodded once. “He didn’t respond to Luhan at all, didn’t even look at him.” He looked Heechul in the eyes, then, some foreign emotion there. “He tried to kill Jonghyun. Went straight for his throat.”

And in that moment, Kibum could have sworn he heard Heechul’s heart shatter. A soft noise broke through his lips, a split second passing before he moved to leave the room. Kibum grabbed him by the elbow, pulled him backwards. “No. You aren’t going down there. I promise you, I will let you, but I need a week. Give me that long – no longer – to figure out what’s going on in his mind, to figure out what Seyoung did.” Heechul ripped out of his grasp, snarling, and Kibum looked away quickly. “You take care of this whole vampire army situation. Let me handle Leeteuk.”

“Promise me.”

Kibum extended his hand and Heechul took it. “I promise you. I swear to you, on my life, that I will let you see him in a week.” After a moment, Heechul nodded once. “Go. Take care of this situation.”

***

“I have bad news.”

Luhan looked up at Kibum, exhaustion written on his face. “Go ahead. I don’t know how much worse this could possibly get, but go ahead.”

Kibum smiled tightly at him, before stepping forward and closing the door behind him. “We got word from the Council. They’re sending a group of hunters, but we don’t know how quickly they’re going to be here. With our luck, it’ll be right after we finish the battle.” He paused, looked away. “They want Taeyong and Taeil brought in alive. They’re going to put them on Trial.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I was.” Kibum sighed quietly, then sat down across from Luhan. “They don’t understand how powerful either of those people are. They don’t understand that Taeyong’s not going to go along with whatever they have planned. They don’t understand that he would rather die than go before the Council.” A long silence followed. “Taeil will go along with it, though. So long as he’s keeping up this whole pacifist thing, he’ll go before the Council, he’ll go on Trial. And he’ll make sure to sway each and every member of the Council just enough to get him out of there alive and well, no harm done, no time served. He’ll walk away without a scratch, unless Taeyong is there too.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Family matters more to Taeil than anything in the world. If his family is in danger, then he’ll do anything that he can to protect them. Unfortunately for him, Taeyong doesn’t believe the same.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking out the window. “If we can get Taeyong into custody, he’ll confess, no problem. It’s just getting him there that’s going to be the problem.” He paused, before looking at Luhan quickly. “We can get Taeil there without a fight, but you know he won’t talk. The most we’re going to be able to do is get him to stay there long enough that he lets something slip.”

“What’s your plan?”

“It’ll come down to either him or Taeyong in that prison, and I would wager he’d rather spend a hundred centuries locked up than see his student suffer.”

Luhan didn’t seem to like that implication. He sighed, put his head in his hands. “You want us to take Taeyong in first. Him being there will draw in Taeil, and then they’ll make the switch. But they won’t be able to do it without the Council knowing- oh.”

“They’ll switch bodies, when they pass each other, in and out of the Court. So, they’ll have Taeyong’s body locked up, but Taeil’s soul. That leaves Taeyong to go running around in the real world, wreaking havoc inside of his teacher’s body.” He stopped, then, fingers resting on the desk in front of him. “It’s a stupid plan, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“When have our plans ever been smart?”

Kibum snorted quietly. “You have a point. I still don’t like it. He’s too dangerous for us to try and apprehend.”

“If anyone can do it, we can.”

“Well, I know that. I know that, if it comes down to it, I can overpower him. But I also know that he’s far more dangerous than any of us are going to be able to predict, especially now that he and Taeil are no longer cordial.” Kibum paused for a moment. “That happened once, in the past, this division between them. Taeyong went on a killing spree. Seyoung’s presence in the equation doesn’t help; he’ll only feed that side of Taeyong.”

“How long do we have?”

Kibum paused in thought for a few moments before speaking, fear in his voice. “Two days. Less if they move any faster than they are now, but I don’t think they will.” He looked down at his toes, deep in thought. “I- Luhan, I need to stay with Leeteuk. Seyoung’s going to come after him and I need to be there to protect him.” Luhan nodded once, hand coming to rest on the phone. “I’ll tell the hunters.”


	21. Chapter 21

Luhan looked up when he heard Heechul and Ryeowook enter the room through the window, found the pair dripping from the rain outside. “They’ve sent a negotiation party. They think they can talk their way out of it.” Seunghyun snorted quietly. “Or distract us from the real problem, one of the two.”

“Who is it?”

“Taeyong, Seyoung, and Jiwon.”

Luhan nodded slowly. “Okay.” He looked around the room slowly, frustration creasing his forehead. “Seunghyun.” He motioned the other hunter forward and didn’t speak again until Seunghyun had leaned down beside him. Luhan spoke quietly, so only the vampires in the room could hear him. “They can’t know about the Council or the Trial. I’ll send Kibum after I send you, only because I need him available to detain Taeyong if given the chance. Take Jongin and Kyungsoo.” Seunghyun nodded once. “Keep it civil. Don’t engage unless you have to. Let them make the first mistake.” Seunghyun straightened, then left the room. Luhan turned to the vampires, trying to rub the exhaustion from his temples. “Get the hunters to the vampire house.” Ryeowook nodded a quick affirmation, before slipping out the window. “Jonghyun, take Minho and stock weapons at the house. Keep an eye out for Seyoung’s vampires.”

Jonghyun followed Seunghyun quickly, leaving Heechul and Luhan alone. “I want to see him.”

“It’s not my call to make, Heechul. You know I left that up to Kibum; if he says you can’t see Leeteuk, then I’d listen to him.” Heechul growled, his fangs slipping down. “Oh, stop that. Stop. Let’s get through this first, then I’ll talk to Kibum. Until then, stay away from him. Please.”

“Fine. _Fine_. Only because it’s Kibum.”

He turned to leave, but Luhan grabbed his shoulder, pulled him to a halt. “Heechul.” The vampire turned, face neutral. “You know that there’s a chance we won’t be able to get him back.” Heechul growled quietly, tried to step away, but Luhan slid in front of him. “Leeteuk will do what he can to keep him alive, he will do what he can to bring Leeteuk back to us, but you need to remember that his body, his soul, _should_ have died on that day, and they didn’t. You can imagine what that would do to a person, never mind the fact that he’s spent so long with Seyoung.”

“I know.” Heechul bowed his head and Luhan looked away. “I have to try. If there’s a chance that I can help him, then I’m going to try.”

Luhan nodded slowly, then stepped out of Heechul’s way. “He’s lucky to have you.”

“I don’t think he sees it that way.”

Luhan turned away from him, hand resting on the edge of his desk, before he spoke. “We have to protect him.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Heechul reached into his jacket and pulled out a stake. He held it out to Luhan, who took it after a moment of silence. “Hold onto that for me. Leeteuk had it, Kibum gave it to him, I’d rather he not be holding a stake if all he wants to do is kill me.” Luhan nodded once, slid the stake into his belt. “Luhan, I need you to know something.” Luhan looked up quickly, eyes narrow. “Leeteuk became a hunter because a vampire killed his parents.”

“I know.”

Heechul frowned. “I-”

“I _know_.” He paused, crossed his arms over is chest. “I know. Kibum and I have talked about it, at length. It was one of the first things he told me, when we first got Leeteuk back.” Heechul growled softly, fangs sliding free. “Don’t do that. He had to, you know that, or I wouldn’t have thought to keep you away from him.” He paused. “And it wasn’t hard to guess. Kibum hasn’t been very subtle in the past few days.”

***

“I don’t like this.” Kyungsoo murmured quietly, his arm around Jongin’s waist, eyes on the invisible line that had become the border between two armies. “I can’t feel them.”

Seunghyun nodded, hand going to his stake. “They’re here.” Jongin nodded slowly, pressed his mouth against the top of Kyungsoo’s head. “They’re just being snobbish, mysterious _assholes_.” A few moments passed, and then a figure dropped off of one of the buildings nearby, landed gracefully on the ground in front of them. He rose to his feet, and Seunghyun instantly recognized Taeyong. A few seconds later, Seyoung had joined him, alongside a second vampire.

They stood in silence for a few moments, gazes locked. Eventually, Taeyong stepped forward, right up to the line, hands clasped behind his back. “We’re glad you decided to come.” His voice was soft, mild, a complete contradiction to his posture. “Let me make this very clear, so we have no confusion between us.” His gaze raked over Seunghyun, barely taking note of Jongin and Kyungsoo. “There are two outcomes that we will accept in this conflict. The first is your complete surrender.” Kyungsoo’s shoulders went tense, and Jongin’s thumb ran soothingly along his upper arm. “The second, which will probably suit you less, is your defeat in battle.” Seunghyun didn’t speak, gaze locked on Taeyong. “As we understand it, the hunters are short-staffed, if you will. You’ve already suffered a number of losses.” He smiled, glanced over at Jongin and Kyungsoo. “We’d like to minimize the additional losses you have to suffer, and we would appreciate your cooperation in the effort. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t always take pleasure in murdering hunters.”

Seunghyun eyed him up and down for a few moments. “Taeyong.” A pause followed, and Seunghyun could see Seyoung getting agitated. “Do you understand what hunters do?” Seyoung rolled his eyes. “We hunt vampires. We protect the human population from vampires. And as long as people like you exist, the people we are protecting are in danger. It is our responsibility to make sure that they are not in harm’s way.” Taeyong raised an eyebrow, smirking. “It has taken us years to negotiate peace with Heechul and his family. We trust them to take only what is necessary. We do not trust _you_ to do the same.” Seunghyun stepped forward, toes an inch behind the line. “And there is no way in hell that we would surrender to someone like you, no way we would cede control of the city to someone like you.”

“Mhm.” Taeyong laughed quietly, cut off only when Seyoung growled, fangs sliding free. “Something you want to say, Seyoung?” Seyoung stepped forward, leaned in to speak into Taeyong’s ear, upper lip curling in fury. He growled something into Taeyong’s ear, something that Seunghyun didn’t hear, but had Jongin and Kyungsoo bristling. Taeyong’s jaw clenched, but he nodded once, before turning his attention back to Seunghyun. He was visibly more annoyed than he had been before. “We’d like to take this opportunity to negotiate your surrender.”

“Absolutely not.”

Taeyong raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because trust me, if you pass up this opportunity, there will be hell to pay for your mistake.” He held out his hand, holding Seunghyun’s gaze. “I’d hate to see the state of the hunters after I’m done with them.”

Seunghyun could feel Jongin and Kyungsoo’s fury. He looked at Taeyong for a long moment, gaze neutral.

He heard Seyoung growl when he stepped backwards, watched the vampire start towards him. Taeyong grabbed him, yanked him backwards. “We gave him a choice. He made his decision. Respect that.” He held Seyoung against his side as he looked back at Seunghyun. “I’m sorry to hear that. I wish this could have ended better.” He backed away quickly, pulling Seyoung with him.

Seunghyun jumped when he heard Kibum hit the ground behind him. “That was a shame.” Seunghyun nodded once. “We need to get back to the others, fast.” He snapped his fingers, and before they knew it, they were standing in Luhan’s office. Seunghyun gasped, buckled over as his stomach twisted painfully. “Ah. Sorry about that. It’s not easy on the human stomach.”

They all jumped about a foot in the air when Luhan stepped into the room. “What the hell are you doing here- how did you get back so fast?”

“A little bit of magic does wonders.” Kibum looked at Luhan for a moment. “Well. As you can see, I didn’t get to apprehend Taeyong. He asked us to surrender. We told him no. He’s not happy about it.” Luhan nodded once, came to stand beside Kibum. “We have a few hours at most.” Another short nod, then Luhan walked to the window, locked it tight, before tapping twice on the runes carved into the wall above it. “I’ll make sure everyone knows the situation. Jongin, Kyungsoo, come with me.” They left the room, passing Jonghyun and Heechul in the hallway.

They walked in silence for a few moments, then Kibum spoke again, voice quiet. “Make sure the hunters – and the vampires – know what’s going on. I need to stay with Leeteuk.”

***

“How are you?”

Leeteuk growled, twisting around to glare at Kibum. “How do you _think_ I’m doing? I haven’t fed since you brought me here.” His fangs were at full length, eyes burning red. “I’m sure even _you_ can imagine what that would do.” He growled again, pulled a pillow against his chest, grip so tight that it ripped a hole in the pillow, feathers fluttering free. “They’re coming for you. The vampires. Taeyong’s vampires.” He paused, watching Kibum’s face carefully. He was oddly quiet, given the anger that was permeating his mind. “Seyoung is coming to bring me away from here.”

He seemed content with the statement, a dim smile on his face as his eyes fell shut. Kibum sighed quietly, then came to perch on the edge of the mattress. “Leeteuk-”

“Stop.” Leeteuk sat up, holding the pillow tightly against his chest. “I was safe with him. He protected me, he took care of me.” Kibum looked away, trying to swallow his protest. “Kibum, when he comes for me, let me go with him. Let him take me.” Kibum shook his head once, the protest rising on his lips. “And if letting him have me means the difference between all of the hunters dying, and some of you living?”

“Seyoung is one vampire. There is little he can do.” He exhaled slowly, nostrils flaring. “Letting you go will not satisfy Taeyong, nor will it satisfy the vampires and sorcerers that work underneath him. I cannot let him take you.”

“Am I to be your experiment, then? You’re going to try and turn me back into the hunter I once was.”

Kibum turned to gaze at him, fury in his eyes. “You were my friend. You are still my friend. I do not experiment on my friends.” He stood, then walked slowly to the door. “Leeteuk, the others don’t want me to tell you this, but I think it needs to be said.” He took a deep breath, before he spoke. “When you were with Seyoung, someone altered your memories. I don’t know who it was, but someone changed what you remember.” Leeteuk scoffed quietly. “You remember how you believed that your stake was broken? And it turned out that that had been a lie?” Leeteuk nodded once. “Why’s it so hard to believe that this was true of other things?”

“Like what?”

Kibum didn’t turn to face him, hand resting on the doorknob. “Heechul wouldn’t have left you if we hadn’t dragged him away. He wanted to stay with you, he believed you would wake up if he just waited long enough, he believed more than anyone that you weren’t dead. We basically forced him to leave you behind.” Kibum bowed his head, forehead resting against the door. “I don’t- don’t blame him for what happened. If you want to blame someone – and I know you won’t blame Seyoung and Taeil – then blame me. It wasn’t Heechul’s fault. I mean, if we’re being honest, it was Hakyeon and Taeil’s, but you won’t believe that, so blame me.”

Leeteuk was silent. A moment passed, then Kibum heard him stand up, cross the room towards him. He flinched when Leeteuk put a hand on his back, turned to face him. Their gazes locked, and they held still for a few seconds, and then Leeteuk pulled him into a hug. Kibum exhaled quietly, arms wrapping around Leeteuk’s waist. “I don’t know you. I barely remember you. But I trust you.” He swallowed hard, breathing deeply. “I trust you more than I should, but you haven’t lied to me. I can feel that much.” He pulled back, eyebrows drawn together in a combination of confusion and sadness. “There’s so much that I don’t remember, like this huge gap in my head, where I know there should be something, but there’s not.”

Kibum nodded. “I can get your memory back.”

“I don’t want you to experiment on me. I told you that.” Kibum nodded once. “You know you can do it?” Another quick nod. “Let me think on it.”

“Of course.” Without another word, Kibum withdrew, left Leeteuk alone in the room.

***

“You need to get yourself under control.”

“He’s _mine_. They took him from me, I want him back, and I will have him back, if I have to kill each and every one of them to get him. He belongs to me, he _loves_ me. They have taken what is mine, and I will make them pay for it!”

“Control yourself, Seyoung.”

Seyoung snarled, fangs out, fury in his eyes. “We have the numbers. We have every advantage over them. They can’t stand up to us, they cannot stand against us, you know it, I know it, and _they_ know it. We need to _act_ , and we need to do it _now_.”

“We will act when I give the command.” Seyoung shrieked, the sound loud enough to make Taeyong wince in pain as it scraped at his eardrums. “You may have been Taeil’s second in command before, but I was always his heir. I will always be his heir, I will always be the one in command when he is not present. You will listen to my commands.” Seyoung snarled again, the sound ripping through his chest. “The army that I have built does not serve you. You move now, you move alone, without their support. How many hunters do you think you could kill before they got a stake in you? Three? Four? Five, if you’re lucky?” Seyoung’s lip curled back, fangs bared, as Taeyong spoke again, voice gentle. “But if you move with me, if you wait for my command, then all of them will die, and you will have your precious little newborn back. You will have him, you will have everything that Taeil promised you. You will have this city, you will have the humans here, and you will have the head of every vampire and hunter that wronged you on a pike. You will tear the heart of the bastard that killed Takuya out of his chest.” Seyoung sucked in a sharp breath as Taeyong stepped closer, slid a hand underneath his jaw, gaze flickering gold for half a second, before going dark. “You will be a King, but only if you are willing to be patient. There is a time to act quickly, without hesitation. This isn’t it.”

Seyoung closed his eyes, bowed his head. He was pissed off, Taeyong could read that much in his posture alone, but he knew that Taeyong was right. “Trust me. Trust that I know what is best. I know what you want, and we have the resources, the capabilities, to get it. I just need you to be patient and have some faith.” The hand not on Seyoung’s jaw slid into his hair, tugging his head back gently. “Do you?”

“Trust you?” Taeyong nodded once. “Of course, I do, you know that. I trust you more than anyone, even Tail. You know that.”

“Good.”


	22. Chapter 22

“This is ridiculous.”

Luhan glanced at Jongin, who was crouched on the roof behind him. He didn’t speak, turned his gaze back to the street below them. In his peripheral, he could see Seunghyun on the roof of the building to their left. Jongin sighed quietly, shifting anxiously in place. A few seconds passed in silence, before Jongin spoke again. “Do we even know that they’re coming here?”

“Jongin, shut up.”

Luhan hissed the words at Jongin, fingers flexing on his stake. Jongin made a soft noise of complaint, but didn’t speak, kept his head down. They held still, eyes glued on the street. Luhan could feel Kibum’s magic flowing through the city, curling around each of their bodies gently. He wouldn’t be able to do much to protect them while they were out here, but he was doing what he could. A moment passed, then Luhan heard Kibum’s voice in his head, quiet. _They crossed the barrier North of you. Ten blocks to your right._ Luhan nodded once. _Jongin needs to stop moving, if you want to have the element of surprise. I can smell him from here_. Luhan nodded again, then felt Kibum withdraw.

Luhan turned his head, made eye contact with Seunghyun, who nodded once. He raised his hand into the air, making a signal with his fingers, and Luhan saw hunters and vampires alike raising their heads. Jongin made a quiet noise in his throat, nostrils flaring – he could smell them, then.

Luhan lowered himself down, until he was lying flat on the rooftop, stake in his hand. Jongin mirrored him, fangs sliding free. They waited a few seconds in silence, and Luhan felt Jongin tense as soon as the newcomers came into sight. From where Luhan was, he could make out Taeyong, but couldn’t identify any of the others. He made eye contact with Jongin, nodded once, and Jongin moved slowly, to the edge of the roof. He slipped off of the edge, down into the alley between the two buildings.

Luhan saw Taeyong tense, eyes darting over to the side quickly, flicking over where Jongin had dropped. His breath locked in his throat and he held still, waiting with baited breath as Taeyong and the group of vampires walked past. Taeyong definitely knew something was up, but he hadn’t seen anything – if he had, he would have stopped.

He turned his head, made eye contact with Seunghyun. He looked just as frustrated as Luhan felt, concern in his eyes. He didn’t believe for a second that Taeyong thought they were alone.

When they were out of sight, Seunghyun got to his feet, jumped over the alley and came to stand beside Luhan, who stood as he approached. “Kibum knows?” Luhan nodded once, slipped his stake into his belt. “Where do you want us next?”

“Take everyone on your right and go North. Keep yourselves spread out, but close enough that you can help each other out if you get in trouble. I want a full sweep of the Northern half of the city. I’ll take the others and we’ll work our way back to headquarters. When you’ve finished, work your way back to the vampire house. I’ll have Kibum let you know if things change.”

Seunghyun nodded once. “Understood. If we find-”

“If you get into trouble, Kibum will make sure that we get help sent your way. We have vampires waiting in the wings, if anything happens.” Another quick nod, before Seunghyun turned. “Be careful. If you find Taeyong, do everything you can to avoid conflict. We need him alive.”

“I know. I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you.”

Seunghyun walked away from him, leaped back over the alleyway. As he left, Luhan turned away, exhaling slowly as his gaze locked with one of the other hunters. He nodded once and they all dropped to the streets at once. Luhan did the same after a second of hesitation.

***

“This is a trap.”

Taeyong exhaled quietly, then turned to Jiwon. “You think I don’t know that.” Jiwon nodded once, eyes dark. “That wasn’t a question.” Another slow nod was all he got in response. “Take your brother and his minions and go North. Follow Seunghyun. Cut them off from the rest.”

“And what of you?”

Taeyong cocked his head to the side in thought. “Jay and I have business to attend to, in the hunter headquarters.” Jiwon nodded once, reached out to wrap his arms around Taeyong, hugged him gently before withdrawing. “Take care of yourself. You know how to reach me, if something goes wrong.” Another nod, then Jiwon turned, vanished into the darkness. He was replaced a split second later. “Yoonhyung, take Donghyuk, take your patrols. Go South. Hold the border. No one comes in or out of this city unless I allow it.” They vanished too, leaving one standing in their place. “Come here.” He held out his hand. “I have a task for you.”

“You and your tasks, all the time, Taeyong.”

Taeyong patted him on the cheek gently. “Oh, Jay. Always so sassy.” Jay took his hand a moment later, smiling. “I made the idiot vampire a promise. And unfortunately, I am bound by magical law to keep that promise.” Jay nodded along with him, eyes flashing brightly. “Get Seyoung’s bitch out of there. I’m sure he’d prefer unharmed, but there’s only so much we can do.” He pressed a kiss to Jay’s temple, then released him. “Go. Get him back to our house, and _keep him there_. Do not let the hunters touch him, do not let those _vampires_ touch him, and most importantly, my darling, precious, _baby_ apprentice, do not let _Kibum_ see you, do not let him know what you have done, and do not let him anywhere near you. He touches you, he gets anywhere near you and the bitch, he so much as sees either of you, then this whole thing falls apart, and there will be no one but you to blame.”

“Well, that was certainly inspiring.” He laughed quietly. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t ruin this, for you. I’m more than capable; I learned from the best.”

“I know.” Taeyong glanced over his shoulder, then back at Jay. “Be patient. Be careful.”

Jay smiled, leaned over to kiss Taeyong gently. “And the same to you.” He pulled away, started down the road. “If he tries to kill me, I’ll kill him first. I won’t apologize for that.” Without another word, he moved, vanishing into shadows. A few seconds passed, then Taeyong turned, alone, to gaze down the street. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and when he opened them again, he was standing on a rooftop, overlooking the city.

“Taking an apprentice of your own?” Taeyong didn’t say anything, kept his head down. “Brave of you, considering the fact that you still have not been released from your own apprenticeship. Braver still, with the way our relationship has been going, darling.” Taeyong nodded slowly, body going stiff when he felt a hand on the back of his neck. “Look at me.”

Taeyong turned his head, to meet Taeil’s gaze. Their eyes were the same shade of silver, but where Taeyong looked relatively calm, there was a storm brewing behind Taeil’s eyes. “Stupid. I give you a second chance at life, and this is what you do with it?”

“It was _you_?”

Taeil rolled his eyes. “Of course, it was me. Who else could it have been?” Taeyong didn’t say anything, looked away. “You thought it was you? I trained you well, Taeyong, but you aren’t that good. You aren’t that strong.” He slung his arm around Taeyong’s neck, tugging him closer. “There was so much potential in you, you know. There was so much you could have done, could have been.” Taeyong tried to turn and look at him, but Taeil held him in place. “I could have taken you to so many places, shown you so many things.”

“Taeil, what does that mean?” He was straining, now, against Taeil’s grip. “Taeil, what- what are you saying?”

Taeil hushed him quietly, ran his fingers through Taeyong’s hair gently. “That depends.” Taeyong made a quiet noise, and Taeil rolled his eyes, before releasing him. “I suppose we will have to see how your idiot plan goes, and then we can decide exactly what I am saying.” He stepped backwards, partially vanishing into shadow, then paused. “My dear, darling, sweet little apprentice.”

“You’re going to kill me.” Taeyong’s voice was small, broken.

Taeil scoffed. “Let us not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t kill without good reason, and you’ve given me no good reason to kill you, my darling, not yet, anyway.” His eyes faded, from silver, to gold, to black. “But if you fail? Then it will most certainly be something I consider. You know that. You know I don’t like when people – especially _my_ people – fail. Seyoung was right, you have every opportunity, you have every possible advantage, you have every single chance to do this, for me. So, my dear, precious, most _darling_ Taeyong, please, _please_ don’t fuck this up, for yourself, or for me. I hate to think about what would happen to you if you did.”

Taeyong grabbed Taeil and pulled him against his chest, gasping quietly. “I’m sorry, Taeil, I’m _sorry_ , please- please don’t kill me.” Taeil hushed him, gripping Taeyong’s waist gently. “I- I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to die.”

When Taeil pulled back, Taeyong looked to be on the verge of tears. “Don’t you dare cry, young apprentice.” He placed his hands on Taeyong’s jaw, holding him in place gently. “If you wish to keep your life, young one, then you had best make sure that you don’t fail.” Taeyong nodded quickly, avoiding Taeil’s gaze. “You poor thing.”

“I made a mistake.” Taeil hummed quietly, thumbing at Taeyong’s cheekbones. “I- I am so, so sorry, Taeil, please- I am _begging_ you, please-”

“Please, what, young one?” He murmured the words, then ran a hand through Taeyong’s hair. “You want me to help you? That’s unlikely; you got yourself into this mess, I trust that you can get yourself out it.” Taeyong made a quiet, terrified noise. “And I know that you know better than to beg for my forgiveness, little one.”

“I’m sorry.” Taeil hushed him softly, fingers curling in his hair. “I am so, so sorry. I love you so much. I am sorry for leaving you, I am sorry for…for siding with Seyoung so many times, instead of you, I am sorry that I didn’t listen to you, I should have been better, I’m so sorry.” He tried to move closer to Taeil and stumbled, went down to his knees, dragging Taeil down with him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t want to die.”

“Well, darling, you really should have considered that before you decided to get involved in this mess.” His grip in Taeyong’s hair tightened, then he pulled Taeyong into a gentle hug. “You have a job to do, young apprentice. You have a war to win.”

Taeyong nodded quickly, gasping quietly for air. “I will. I will, I’ll win, I’ll do it, for you.” Taeil smiled, smoothed a hand over his hair, before he pulled away. “I will make it up to you. I will do everything I can to show you that I am still worthy of your teaching. You have my word.”


End file.
